An appropriate philosophy

Germar Wacker heads the Swiss Bühler Group’s newly-created Consumer Foods segment. Together with Haas plants, the company offers machines all along the entire added value chain to baking and confectionery sector customers. The CEO explains more about the state of affairs in the interview.

Borchfeld: Mr. Wacker, what has changed in Haas, Meincke and/or Mondomix at the sites in Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands since the takeover by Bühler in January 2018?

+ Wacker: In terms of competences and responsibilities, everything has stayed the same as it was in the past. But much has also been accomplished. The greater depth of collaboration has yielded very many new approaches. For example, nowadays we can offer our customers a more seamless process chain and integrated solutions. This is also due to the fact that Haas and Bühler employees have shown an open approach to one another. There has been good collaboration at all levels and across the regions. New end-product creations have come into existence, and there has been a lively exchange over the technologies and about customers’ requirements. The wonderful aspect is that both groups have similar cultures which have now come together, and that the offerings complement one another very well. This has a positive effect in relation to current projects, since we can offer end-to-end solutions from silo to packing.

+ Borchfeld: But didn’t the takeover lead to any job losses?

+ Wacker: No, the individual sites remain in existence. We plan closer interlinking of the technology centers and further development of the locations. The workforce of around 1,700 employees need to have no fear of the notorious synergy effects.

+ Borchfeld: What was the response of customers to the collaboration?

+ Wacker: It was very good. Haas is a leading manufacturer of plants to produce waffles/wafers and biscuits/cookies. Bühler dominates milling and baking and is very strong in the

Bühler continues growth

The Bühler Group also continued its positive development in 2018. Explaining the position during a press conference, CEO Stefan Scheiber said: “We are pleased with the overall 2018 results. Volumes developed well, although profits were below the targets we had set. Despite risks such as trading conflicts, we are making good progress with our portfolio and global organization. We look to the future with optimism.” According to the company, the 2018 financial year was marked by further organic growth in all business units – with market gains, increased incoming orders and higher sales revenues. Sales revenues for Grains & Food rose by 9.2% to CHF 2.2 billion and for Advanced Materials by 5.6% to CHF 705 million, and Haas contributed CHF 373 million to the result. As a conse- chocolate sector. We can now merge these component elements together and offer our customers solutions all along the entire added value chain. Our clients recognize the great potential of this, and have given the merger a very positive reception. quence of the Group’s combined organic and acquisitionbased growth, Bühler was able to increase incoming orders by 17% to CHF 3.3 billion. Sales revenues rose by 22%, again to CHF 3.3 billion, while the order book at the year-end stood at CHF 1.9 billion (+5.9%). Regionally, European (+28%) and Asian (+40%) markets made the biggest contribution to sales revenues. Scheiber also said: “Following the successful integration of Haas in 2018, Bühler decided to add a new strategic mainstay to strengthen the leading position in the consumer foods market from 2019 onwards. The Bühler Group plans to use the new Consumer Foods business unit to strengthen the focus on this important global growth market.” +++

+ Borchfeld: Haas earned sales revenues of around CHF 373 million in 2018. How do you see this developing?

+ Wacker: It’s a record turnover and a wonderful starting point from which we can now join together to make the business grow further.

+ Borchfeld: What does the current order book look like?

+ Wacker: The order book is very good, and we are also very confident as far as the next few years are concerned.

+ Borchfeld: Where are your most important markets?

+ Wacker: Europe and Asia are certainly our most important markets. We continue to see the biggest growth potentials in various Asian regions, but we also see exciting prospects in Africa and in North America.

+ Borchfeld: And which kinds of plants do your customers ask for?

+ Wacker: Some of our customers have their own high level of competence. In most cases these want to design the entire process chain themselves. And we have customers who are specialists in marketing end-products. These are on the lookout for a dependable partner. In this case we are available as a turnkey supplier.

+ Borchfeld: In which areas do you see potential for further growth?

+ Wacker: We already have a very large share of the market in the waffle/wafer area. I see growth potentials in the areas of materials handling or biscuits.

+ Borchfeld: What impact has combining the businesses in the Consumer Foods area had on customers?

+ Wacker: We want to be in a position to make the manufacture of complete end products as easy as possible for our customers. That means we want to already support customers during the development of the product and, depending on their requirements, to be alongside as a partner to help them. With turnkey projects, we also guarantee the required endproduct, which means the customer no longer needs to tackle the integration of individual machines and plants. At the same time, we want to design collaboration with Bühler to be as simple and easy as possible, including as far as service, contactability and spare parts supplies are concerned. We also offer our customers special know-how together with research and development to fulfill their needs. In that way, we want to offer customers solutions from a single supplier and to accompany them as partners.

+ Borchfeld: Will the brands remain unchanged?

+ Wacker: Yes, but on a different level. We will continue to sell products in the waffle/wafer area under the Franz Haas name. Meincke represents biscuits and cookies. Mondomix will be retained as a brand name for mixing and aerating systems. At a corporate level, the name Bühler will replace the name Haas, and the Bühler logo will also replace Haas logos.

+ Borchfeld: Mr. Wacker, many thanks for the interview. +++

Focus on Consumer Foods

Bühler has asserted its presence in the global food market since January 1, 2019 through the newly-created Consumer Foods segment. The Austrian Haas Group that was taken over in 2018 is also a part of the new segment. Customers are offered integrated solutions to produce waffles/wafers, biscuits/cookies, baked goods, chocolates, pralines, filled products, nuts, coffee and many others. Bühler has managed Haas as a separate business since the takeover in January 2018. The new organisation, which unifies all the technologies and solutions in the Consumer Foods area into one segment is said to be the next logical step to serve customers via a single contact point. Management of the new Segment is the responsibility of Germar Wacker, hitherto CEO of Haas, who also became a member of the Bühler Group’s group management through the realignment. Germar Wacker, now the Consumer Food CEO, was born in the Stuttgart region, and studied Business Management both in Germany and in the USA. Wacker started his professional career in the automobile industry, after which he worked for a rail transport technology manufacturer. +++