| 14-02-2008 New
ZF Services business unit bundles worldwide Aftersales activities
Merger of ZF Trading with the Sales and Service Organization as of January 2008
Friedrichshafen/Schweinfurt
(Germany). Automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG restructures its aftersales
and service organization. As of the beginning of the year, ZF Trading, responsible
for the worldwide trading business with spare parts, and the ZF-Sales and Service
Organization will be merged to the new business unit ZF Services. Thus, the international
aftersales business will be further extended. The
merger of the previously separate business units establishes extensive growth
and synergy potential for the ZF Group. In this new business unit, the improved
market image can lead to more efficient processing of the existing customer portfolio.
For this purpose, the wide Sales and Service network - covering 650 service locations
worldwide - will be used. In China, Singapore, and Australia the aftermarket and
service activities have already been merged. The target is to ensure an internationally
harmonized market and aftersales strategy. In future, the ZF divisions' Aftersales
Service Centers will be even more closely integrated into business. ZF Chief Executive
Officer Hans-Georg Harter summarizes the strategic direction of the organizational
restructuring as follows: "With ZF Services we want to make a maximum contribution
to the company value". The
newly created ZF Services business unit, which brings together the product brands
Sachs, Lemforder, Boge and ZF Parts under one roof, together with the service
provided by the Sales and Service Organization is to generate sales of EUR 1.2
billion in 2008, with a workforce of 2500 staff and 40 worldwide locations of
its own. Alois Ludwig, currently Managing Director of the Board, ZF Trading, will
be responsible for the company which is headquartered in Schweinfurt and Friedrichshafen.
In addition to the previous trading business, Ludwig will be Chairman of the ZF
Services Board of Directors and, in this function, he will also be the Managing
Director for the areas of Marketing, Communication, and HR. Matthias Benz, who
was also nominated Managing Director of ZF Services, is responsible for the worldwide
Sales and Service Organization, which is based in Friedrichshafen, and for the
areas of Corporate Development, Organization and Legal Affairs. The areas of Finances,
Controlling, IT, Purchasing, and Logistics are taken over by Managing Director
Christian Haedge. The
current priority is on merging both business entities by means of an integration
project. This project is to tap further cross-selling potential, integrate locations,
and open up new business fields. Ludwig underlines that "During this period,
it is important to successfully use potential synergies within logistics, infrastructure,
and when tapping into new markets". The individual sales channels will be
processed more effectively with the new structure. The new business field shall
grow by extending both the spare parts range but also by increasingly making use
of the international service network. ZF is a
leading worldwide automotive supplier for Driveline and Chassis Technology with
approximately 58,000 employees at 120 locations in 25 countries. In order to continue
to be successful with innovative products, ZF annually invests five percent of
its sales (2007 presumably EUR 12.6 billion) in Research and Development.
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