December 06, 2016 | Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR
Successful Investor Day at Burckhardt Compression
Today's Investor Day at Burckhardt Compression spotlighted the company's recent acquisitions and the business potential they offer as well as the measures that have been taken at both newly created divisions to increase incoming order volumes and reduce operating costs.
Valentin Vogt, Chairman of the Board of Directors, drew attention to the significance of the latest acquisitions and cooperation. Marcel Pawlicek, CEO of Burckhardt Compression, detailed the new market opportunities that these acquisitions and cooperation have created and how they had enlarged Burckhardt Compression’s product portfolio. Another important topic at the Investor Day concerned the recently announced cost-cutting and cost-optimization programs. Here global sourcing efforts are being intensified and Burckhardt Compression’s competence centers are being rigorously aligned with their target markets. Operating processes are also being standardized across the company’s network of sites. In the Services Division, regional sales organizations will be strengthened and additional geographic markets targeted, given that the services business is a highly regional-oriented business which calls for fast response times and considerable flexibility.
Highly diverse compressor applications
As CEO Marcel Pawlicek emphasized in his remarks, business at Burckhardt Compression is benefiting from several global mega trends such as urbanization, the transition to more sustainable energy, and Asia’s rapid growth. The application areas for Burckhardt Compression compressors are quite diverse. Compressors are required to manufacture foils for solar panels, for example, and for the desulfurization of gasoline and in the transportation of low-carbon natural gas.
World’s most powerful compressors are being made in Winterthur
A subsequent tour of the factory allowed visitors to see for themselves just how vast the range of applications for Burckhardt Compression’s compressors is. Among other objects of interest, they were able to view the two most powerful Hyper Compressors in the world, which are currently being built right in Winterthur. This reciprocating compressor system weighs approximately 500 metric tons and will be installed at an LDPE (low-density polyethylene) plant to manufacture plastic pellets under high pressure. These pellets serves as the raw material for all kinds of plastic foils and other plastic products.
