As mooted, it did not take three years to sort out the situation: Mannesmann Plastics Machinery AG (MPM, D-80997 Munich; www.mannesmann-plastics.com) “is looking for a new strategic partner.” Until now, all the rumours about selling the group as part of the takeover of Atecs Mannesmann by Siemens and Bosch (see Plasteurope.com 08, 2000) have been denied. Back in May 2000, managing board chairman Wolfgang Vogl was still feeling “perfectly comfortable” with the new owners. With over 6,000 employees and sales of around EUR 1.4 bn, the group is regarded as the world market leader in the construction of injection moulding machinery. In addition to Billion, Demag Ergotech, Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik, Netstal and VanDorn Demag from the injection moulding segment, the plastics machinery holding MPM also takes in extrusion machinery manufacturer Berstorff.

At the annual press conference of one of MPM´s competitors, SMS Kunststofftechnik (D-58540 Meinerzhagen; www.battenfeld.de), in October there was open talk of a possible acquisition (see Plasteurope.com 21, 2000). Managing board chairman Heinrich Weiss told journalists that SMS was interested in taking over parts of the plastics machinery group. Many analysts suspect similar interest from other competitors such as Milacron, Husky, Engel and Arburg. MPM nevertheless denies rumours that it will be broken up, saying it will be “sold as a whole so as not to endanger its outstanding market position.” Since interest in the overall company, with its “particularly profitable multiple brand strategy,” is very high, it is out of the question that individual segments would be split off and sold off, it said. Should MPM stick to this strategy, a takeover by a finance-oriented investor would seem the only recourse – for competiton reasons if nothing else.