Walter To Close Frankfurt Facility

Walter AG, one of the world‘s leading providers of precision tools for metal machining, plans to phase out production at its manufacturing and reconditioning site in Frankfurt. The company is thus seeking to consolidate its production footprint in Germany in order to remain efficient in a changing market. The products manufactured in Frankfurt are to be relocated until spring 2021 to other plants within the group.

“This has not been an easy thing to consider given the impact on our staff,” stressed Richard Harris, president of Walter. “We see declining market activity and need to take actions to safeguard our competitive position and profitability. It will be no longer economically viable to maintain the current scale of operations in Germany.”

At the same time, Walter continues to push forward its successful international strategy. “The major growth opportunities for our target industries over the next years are in the Asia-Pacific region and the U.S.”, said Harris. “With our expanding international presence and our successful strategy as a process and development partner for our customers, we are very well positioned in those markets.”

Over the last few years, Walter’s already globalised business has again seen a considerable shift of gravity towards the international markets. “With sales becoming generally more and more localised, we must address the growing mismatch between production capacities and sales generated in our domestic market,” said Harris.

At its manufacturing site in Frankfurt, Walter employs around 200 employees, almost all of whom would be affected by the intended closure. “We are conscious of the potential impact on the staff involved and strive to provide support and alleviate individual hardship as far as possible,” Harris said. “This will be an important element of our negotiations with the works council.”

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