SIG announces partial sale of weapons division
Swiss industrial holdings group, SIG, has sold part of its loss-making small arms and rifle business to German investors. About 100 jobs will be lost.
SIG, based at Neuhausen in canton Schaffhausen, said on Wednesday the deal was being backdated to January 1 of this year.
It is selling off its sectors making guns, hunting weapons and parts for artillery weapons.
SIG said it was still looking for buyers for the rest of its arms division.
The firm, founded in 1853, has been transforming itself from a diversified company, built around machinery and engineering businesses, into a global group focused on packaging technology.
Its total sales in 1999 reached SFr2 billion ($1.1 billion). The company has more than 7,000 employees.
The arms division includes famous brands such as Mauser and Sauer. It had sales of SFr70 million in the first half of this year.
It posted an operating loss of SFr2 million over the same period, compared to a profit of SFr5 million over the same period of 1999.
Apart from the arms division, which employs 771 people, SIG also wants to sell its Positec division under its refocusing drive. Positec makes electrical motors and automation software and hardware for the textile, packaging and printing industries.
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