(Reuters) -German chemicals group Evonik Industries said on Thursday it would merge its sites in Marl and Wesseling into a single unit as a part of the company’s restructuring measures.
The new company, Syneqt GmbH, is scheduled to begin operations on January 1 as Evonik’s wholly-owned subsidiary.
It could be incorporated into a joint venture or sold in the future, said Thomas Wessel, the company’s chief human resources executive and labour relations director.
Options under consideration range from financial investors to strategic partnerships to infrastructure service providers, Wessel added.
Evonik’s service units at the Marl and Wesseling sites employ 3,500 staff, generating around 1.8 billion euros ($2.11 billion) of annual sales.
The new company will offer services related to chemical plants, such as energy supply and pipeline construction, as well as operation, logistics and plant security.
Germany’s chemical sector, the country’s third-largest industry, continues to struggle with weak demand, a sluggish economy and, more recently, higher U.S. import tariffs.
Aiming to slim down its business, Evonik has been undergoing the largest restructuring programme in its history, which might reduce its workforce by more than a fifth.
($1 = 0.8542 euros)
(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; writing by Anastasiia Kozlova; editing by Rachel More)
