Langley Holdings has businesses in the UK, France, Germany and the USA. Last year it made a $100m profit on $660m turnover, a figure that would make anyone in print drool. The company has a track record of turning around ailing engineering companies, in fact company owner Tony Langley’s first venture was doing just that with his grandfather’s failed business in 1975.
Langley, chairman, CEO and sole shareholder of Langley Holdings says “We foresee very good economic prospects for manroland sheetfed following the recent re-structuring. This is a world-class business with an excellent reputation and it’s production and research and development facilities are superb; everything one expects of the very best of German engineering.”
Langley Holdings, which has until now had no connection with the printing indutry has also bought more than 40 manroland overseas sales and service businesses. The manroland Australasia business, headed by Steve Dunwell was not part of the deal, as it has already been bought by maroland web systems, however manroland Australasia has been appointed the sales and service agent for manroland sheetfed.
Dunwell says, “We are very excited that both the web and sheetfed divisions of manroland have been purchased by such successful industrial enterprises for the long term future of the companies. Our customers’ investments in the manroland technologies of presses is secure.”
The surprise deal for sheetfed follows the successful completion of the sale of manroland’s Auisburg-based web press division to $2.2bn turnover German investment company Possehl, which took place yesterday. The manroland Plauen site, which supplies parts for both divisions, remains in the hands of the administrator, with Possehl among those showing interest in buying it.
The administrator is thought to have raised well over $150m from the sale of the sheetfed and webfed divisions, although the figure is being kept private. The sheetfed sale is subject to German regulatory conditions, but no problems are expected, with the deal set to go through within weeks.
Both new purchasers will slash jobs, with Possehl making a 741 of the 2200 staff at Augsburg redundant, while Langley will go much further, shedding more than half the 1770 staff at Offenbach, with just over 800 remaining. The administrator has already chopped more than half the staff at Paluen, with 348 of the original 670 made redundant.
The administrator Werner Schneider says the redundancies have ‘right sized’ the business for the current market conditions.
Gerd Finkbeiner, previously CEO of manroland has been retained as a consultant for manroland web division. Peter Kuisle has joined the board of the new company, retaining his previous role as vice president sales. All other directors are from Possehl
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