The beginnings
In 1852, Joseph Körösi, an ironmonger from Hungary, founded a small iron foundry in the then still independent municipality of Andritz.[4] Although Körösi initially only produced small castings, the company expanded very quickly and produced water turbines, cranes and pumps. By 1860, the company already employed over 500 people, and by 1870 the number had risen to 1300. Meanwhile, steam boilers, steam engines, mining machinery and even bridges were also manufactured.
First crisis
After the death of the company founder in 1871, his adopted son Viktor Körösi (1848-1912) became the owner of the machine factory (city office 1874: Griesgasse 36), of which he had been the director until then.[5] As a result of a general economic crisis in Austria (triggered, among other things, by the loss of the Austrian territories in Upper Italy), over 1000 workers had to be made redundant. Viktor Körösi sold the company to Österreichische Alpine Montanunion, an association of iron and steel industry companies in Styria and forerunner of Voestalpine. The machine factory focussed on equipping steel and rolling mills and manufacturing steam engines.
Early 20th century
In 1900, the Austrian industrialist Max von Gutmann acquired the company and transformed it into the stock corporation Maschinenfabrik Andritz Actiengesellschaft. Mechanical equipment for tunnelling became a new business segment, and cranes were also produced again. In addition, high-pressure centrifugal pumps were subsequently developed.
In 1932, Maschinenfabrik Andritz had to temporarily cease production due to the global economic crisis. Nevertheless, the company continued as a going concern and the former employees were soon re-employed.
Anschluss and the Second World War
In 1938, after the Anschluss of Austria to the German Reich, the machine factory was incorporated into the Berlin-based Kämper Motorenwerke and focussed on the production of diesel compressors. In 1941, the factory was sold to Demag in Germany. Until the end of the Second World War, the factory mainly produced cranes and conveyor belts.
After the Second World War
In 1945, the occupying powers confiscated most of the production facilities as "German property". However, the company management managed to rent used machines and tools from decommissioned companies and resume production of small to medium-sized pumps and turbines. Four years later (1949), a long-term co-operation with the Swiss Escher Wyss & Cie. began, initially for water turbines. The product range was completely revised. The manufacture of steam engines and air compressors was discontinued and the company focussed on the production of water turbines, centrifugal pumps, cranes and steel structures. From 1951, complete paper machines were manufactured in co-operation with Escher Wyss AG.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the machine factory continued to grow: the factory buildings were extended, the production facilities modernised and efforts in the field of research intensified. The machine factory produced main cooling pumps for power stations, electrochemical and metallurgical plants. The company was able to significantly increase its turnover and export ratio.
In 1977, the company received the state award and was thus authorised to use the federal coat of arms in its business dealings.
Another crisis and reorganisation
The second oil crisis in 1979/1980 and the general stagnation of the global economy at the beginning of the 1980s also hit Maschinenfabrik Andritz hard. Orders declined and the company made losses. Liquidation of the company was only prevented by massive state subsidies and rationalisation measures between 1981 and 1985. Among other things, the foundry was closed and the workforce reduced from 2,300 to 1,600. In 1987, the company achieved operating profits again for the first time. In the same year, the German investment company AGIV, based in Frankfurt, acquired a majority stake in Maschinenfabrik Andritz AG.
The company was strategically reorganised from a mere licensee of other machine manufacturers to a leading international supplier of high-tech production systems, independent of external know-how.
The acquisition of Sprout-Bauer, a mechanical engineering company based in Pennsylvania (USA), marked the start of a successful expansion policy. With the purchase of Sprout-Bauer, the Andritz Group expanded its portfolio to include refiners and plants for animal feed production.
Durametal Corporation from Oregon (USA), a manufacturer of refiner plates, was acquired in 1992, Kone Wood, a supplier of woodyard equipment for the pulp industry, in 1994 and Jesma-Matador A/S from Denmark for the animal feed sector in 1995. With the reorientation towards becoming an international supplier of complete solutions, the name also changed from Maschinenfabrik Andritz AG (MFA for short) to "Andritz AG" in the mid-1990s.
At the beginning of 1998, Andritz acquired a majority stake in Sundwiger Eisenhütte Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. (now Andritz Sundwig), based in Hemer (North Rhine-Westphalia), and in 2000 a half share in the Ahlström Machinery Group, Finland.
In addition to the numerous acquisitions, the ownership structure also changed: In 1999, ‘AGIV’ sold its stake to a consortium consisting of the Carlyle Group
IPO and further acquisitions
In June 2001, Andritz successfully placed two million new shares on the Vienna Stock Exchange. With the fresh capital, Andritz was able to make further complementary acquisitions in addition to the purchase of the remaining 50% of Ahlstrom: With the purchase of the pulp and paper dryer business from Asea Brown Boveri in 2002, the company was for the first time able to offer the complete process line for pulp production systems, from the woodyard to the finished pulp bale. In the same year, Andritz also became a full-range supplier in the field of continuous hot-dip galvanising systems with the acquisition of a part of the American SELAS Corp.
In June 2003, around 6.1 million shares from the holdings of financial investors (Unternehmens Invest AG, Carlyle Group, Deutsche Beteiligungs AG, GE Capital) were issued to private and institutional investors as part of the secondary public offering on the stock exchange. In the same year, IDEAS Simulation Inc. and Acutest Oy were acquired to further strengthen the pulp and paper division.
In September 2003, Heinrich Fiedler GmbH & Co. KG in Regensburg (screen baskets) was acquired in September 2003, Bird Machine, USA (centrifuges, chamber filter presses) and parts of Netzsch in Selb, Bavaria (dewatering units, chamber filter presses), Otto Kaiser in Bretten, Baden-Württemberg (mechanical high-performance presses) and VA Tech WABAG (fluidised bed drying systems) in 2004. In June 2004, a joint venture, European Mill Service GmbH (EMS), was founded with the industrial service provider Rheinhold & Mahla AG. In June 2006, Andritz AG took over the hydropower division VA Tech Hydro GmbH, formerly VA Tech. In 2008, a division of März-Gautschi Industrieofenanlagen GmbH was acquired. In 2010, Krauss-Maffei centrifuges were added to the product range with the acquisition of centrifuge specialist KMPT AG, Germany. In 2010, Andritz entered the rapidly growing market for plastic film production with the acquisition of DMT Technology, Austria. The company, which operates under the name Andritz Biax, is a supplier of systems for the production of plastic films.
With the acquisition of AE&E Austria at the beginning of 2011, Andritz is able to further strengthen its offering in the fields of power generation (steam boiler systems) and environmental technology (flue gas cleaning systems).
Highlights in ANDRITZ's history, including major acquisitions
In 1852, the company was founded by Hungarian-born Josef Körösi as an iron foundry in Andritz, a suburb of the city of Graz in Austria.[6] Soon after its foundation, the company's production program was extended to include large capital goods, such as cranes, pumps, water turbines, and later also bridges, steam boilers and engines, as well as mining equipment.
In 1949, Andritz began a lasting cooperation with the Escher Wyss Group of Switzerland, initially in the water turbines sector.
In 1951, Andritz embarked on the production of complete paper machines in cooperation with Escher Wyss.
During the 1960s and 1970s, ANDRITZ continued to grow. The production shops were extended, new machines purchased, and research and development activities intensified. Electrochemical and metallurgical equipment were added to the production program.
In 1987, Andritz began to change its strategic direction, from being a licensee of other equipment manufacturers to become a leading international supplier of its own high-tech production systems.
In 1990, the acquisition of Sprout-Bauer, a US company supplying equipment for mechanical pulp and animal feed production, marked the beginning of the group's expansion policy through acquisitions.
2000 -
In March 2000, the company acquired a 50 percent stake in Finland's Ahlstrom Machinery Group from the A. Ahlstrom, a manufacturer of chemical pulp plants and other pulp processing machinery. As part of the purchase agreement, Andritz also received the option of purchasing full control of Ahlstrom Machinery in the event of Andritz going public. In the meantime, Ahlstrom Machinery was renamed Andritz-Ahlstrom and placed under Andritz's Pulp and Paper division.
In 2001, Andritz went public on the Vienna Stock Exchange. Two million new shares were placed successfully with national and international investors.
Following the IPO, Andritz made good on completing its acquisition of full control of Andritz-Ahlstrom, buying up the rest of that subsidiary in July 2001. This was one of the largest acquisitions Andritz has made, and it made Andritz a globally leading supplier of pulp production systems.
In 2006, with the acquisition of VA TECH HYDRO, Andritz advanced to a globally leading supplier of electromechanical equipment for hydropower plants.
Andritz acquired AE&E Austria in 2011, Schuler GmbH (leading German metalforming company) in 2013, and Herr-Voss Stamco Inc. (leading US supplier of coil processing equipment and services for the metals industry) in 2014.
In 2018, the acquisition of Diatec completed the portfolio in hygiene papers, and Andritz also acquired Xerium Technologies a global manufacturer and supplier of machine clothing (forming fabrics, press felts, drying fabrics and roll covers for paper, tissue, and board machines) in 2018.
Andritz Hydro Group
Another large acquisition of Andritz was the purchase of the hydroelectric power division of VA Technologie in 2006, as a consequence of a decision of the European Commission in the acquisition of VA Technologie by Siemens. Experts estimated the price at €200 million. The VA Tech Hydro unit changed its name to Andritz VA Tech Hydro GmbH and became a subsidiary of Andritz AG. With 3000 employees and sales of €620 million, the unit increased the size of Andritz by one third, becoming the company's second-largest business.[7][8]
In May and June 2008, Andritz acquired hydropower technology and certain assets of GE Energy's hydropower business (including test laboratories in Canada and Brazil), as well as GE Energy's majority interest in the joint venture GE Hydro Inepar do Brasil. Since January 2009, all these acquisitions now operate under "Andritz Hydro" name. Andritz Hydro ranks among the 3 largest hydro companies (with Alstom and Voith-Siemens) with historical references back from 19th century by the acquisition over the years of the following companies and technologies, on which the Andritz Hydro group is the legal successor:
