Multivac acquires bakery equipment manufacturer Fritsch

Packaging solutions provider Multivac has acquired German bakery equipment manufacturer Fritsch to extend its product portfolio.

Established in 1926, Fritsch is headquartered in the town of Markt Einersheim in Lower Franconia. The company is currently under the ownership of the fourth generation of the Fritsch family.

The company’s product range includes high-performance equipment and technology for dough forming and processing.

Fritsch, which currently employs around 600 people, generated a turnover of approximately €80m in 2018.

With its subsidiaries in Russia, Poland, the US and the UK, Fritsch filed for insolvency in April 2019. The acquisition allows the German firm to access Multivac’s network and capabilities, as well as continue its business operations.

Fritsch equipment will continue to be manufactured at the company’s site in Markt Einersheim. The company’s products will be sold through Multivac’s worldwide sales and service network.

Multivac said it will create specialised sales teams in the future to serve the bakery industry and provide integrated solutions for manufacturing and packaging bakery products.

In addition to Fritsch’s existing management, a Multivac management team will be appointed to run the company and develop it as a standalone business.

Multivac said the takeover will take effect on 1 August 2019 pending approval under cartel legislation. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Multivac director and group CFO Christian Traumann said: “The takeover of Fritsch is another important step for Multivac in expanding our range of integrated solutions for processing and packaging food products.

“Thanks to the processing solutions from Fritsch, we will continue to extend our presence in the bakery industry, where we have already been able in recent years to implement some very challenging projects for automated packaging solutions.”

Multivac supplies integrated packaging solutions with a focus on packaging, processing, portioning, labelling and marking, as well as inspection and handling.