Carve-out completed successfully: Siemens Electronics Assembly Systems adjusts to market situation; wants to become faster and more flexible

Right on schedule, Siemens Electronics Assembly Systems (SEAS) became operational on January 1, 2009, as a legally separate company within the Siemens technology conglomerate. This step signaled the end of the carve-out process, which started in 2008. At the same time, the Siplace Excellence restructuring program, which was begun in 2007, is entering into a second phase that involves making certain volume-driven adjustments. Plans call for further streamlining of the company's global processes as well as for the consolidation of its development and manufacturing capacities. With its new structure as a globally operating mid-sized company and the scheduled adjustments, SEAS aims to be able to respond even faster and more flexibly to the dynamic market for electronics manufacturing solutions.

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens Drive Technologies, Siemens Electronics Assembly Systems (SEAS) is consolidating its electronics manufacturing solution business. The new organization consists of the headquarters in Munich and seven so-called regional clusters (Germany, Northwest Europe, Southwest Europe, Central-Eastern Europe, China, Asia excl. China, and the Americas), which coordinate the sales and service operations in their respective regions. The new setup will enable the Siplace team to further intensify the traditionally close cooperation with its customers worldwide by making it speedier and more flexible. In addition, SEAS plans to focus more closely on innovation- and technology-driven markets in close cooperation with leading electronics manufacturers. The new company is headed by its chief executive officer (CEO) G�nter Lauber, who previously managed the Electronics Assembly Systems Division (EA) and who for more than ten years has contributed significantly in various management positions to the success of Siplace solutions in the SMT market. The company's chief financial officer (CFO) is Ingrid Gaggermeier.

Due to the significant decline of the global electronics manufacturing market, SEAS plans to make appropriate volume-driven adjustments to the business processes of its global Siplace organization. The plans call for consolidating the company's global development and manufacturing activities at its headquarters location in Munich in order to reduce its high logistics and infrastructure costs and eliminate redundant processes and coordination functions. Besides saving money, the consolidation is also supposed to help SEAS respond more quickly and flexibly to changing market and customer requirements as a �breathing� organization and to work more closely with its customers.

�Separating the Siplace team and restructuring the various regional companies was a complex task which the respective teams performed superbly. The current economicsituation in the area of electronics manufacturing shows that we embarked in the right direction just in time. It also shows us, however, that we must continue to focus on remaining the industry's innovation and technology leader with market-leading products like the Siplace Quad Lane and the new Siplace MultiStar CPP head. With our new structure and these planned adjustments, we offer customers all over the world the customer orientation and flexibility of a mid-sized company paired with the innovative strength and stability of a major technology conglomerate,� said CEO G�nter Lauber about the formal completion of the carve-out process.