MEDIA RELEASES Following its withdrawal from France and the UK (in 2010 and 2011, respectively), Walter Meier is now divesting its wholesale air conditioning business in Germany.

Swegon, already the main supplier, has been secured as the buyer for Walter Meier (Klima Deutschland) GmbH, thus ensuring the long-term future of the business. "We believe that Swegon is the perfect owner for Klima Deutschland and that the business will develop even better in the future than it has to date thanks to a closer interrelationship between manufacturing and distribution," states CEO Silvan G.-R. Meier, discussing the strategically significant move. The transaction is taking place against the background of increasing vertical integration across the whole HVAC industry. Walter Meier is also pursuing this strategy in its humidification business, where it can operate from its position as a manufacturer.


In 2012, Walter Meier (Klima Deutschland) GmbH, with around 110 employees, achieved net sales of
EUR 37 million. Hans-Joachim Socher, who has been the President for many years, will move to Swegon along with his entire team.


Although the German wholesale business will stop contributing to the 2013 annual result of the
Walter Meier Group, the non-recurring effect resulting from the divestment is expected to more than make up for the fall in the operating result.


The humidification business of Walter Meier in Germany had already been split off to the newly established Condair GmbH, under the leadership of Christian Bremer, at the end of 2012. With this latest move,
Walter Meier has been able to successfully conclude its long-term Group strategy of focusing its wholesale air conditioning business on Switzerland and concentrating on humidification and evaporative cooling in the global markets.

Walter Meier is an international climate and manufacturing technology group. The company was founded in 1937 and today generates sales of over CHF 700 million with approx. 2000 employees. Shares in Walter Meier are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (symbol WMN).

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