Bosch ready to sell its Packaging Technology unit

German group Robert Bosch has announced a plan to sell its Packaging Technology unit (pharmaceutical and food packaging) as the operations “have insufficient synergies with the manufacturer’s other areas” and will enable the group to “focus on future topics like the alignment toward future digitalisation”, according to the group’s management.

The unit, headquartered in Waiblingen near Stuttgart, posted revenues of €1.3 billion in 2017 and employs 6,100 people at 30 manufacturing facilities in more than 15 countries worldwide. Bosch intends to sell the packaging technology business as a whole to a single buyer, with the future owner expected to keep on all employees.

Bosch operates in four business sectors: mobility solutions, industrial technology, consumer goods and energy and building technology. In 2017 it posted consolidated sales of €78.1 billion and made almost €7.3 billion of investments in research and development.