Manz AG ramps up business operations at its Italian site again

• Italian government includes development and production companies of lithium-ion batteries and capacitors in its list of companies of strategic relevance
• Development and production for the battery industry is fully resumed at the site near Bologna
• Employees not involved in development and assembly continue to work from home according to the recommendations of the Italian government

Reutlingen, April 16, 2020 - Manz AG, a global high-tech engineering company, is resuming operations at its development site for lithium-ion batteries and capacitors in Italy. On March 20, 2020, Manz had announced a three-week shutdown for the German and Italian locations. The German locations were able to resume full operations from April 14.

The basis for resuming production is a decree by Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte that officially came into effect on April 14. This decree added the production of lithium-ion batteries and capacitors to the list of essential business activities. This means that, as a mechanical engineering company for manufacturing equipment for battery production, Manz Italy s.r.l. can take a key step back towards normality. However, in line with the recommendations of the Italian government, all of the employees who are not directly involved in production continue to work from home.

Martin Drasch, CEO of Manz AG: "We are happy about the Italian government's decision that allows us to fully resume business operations in Italy. This shows that we are excellently positioned in the growth market for future-oriented battery technology, and that we will use our many years of experience to further advance this segment. At the beginning of this week, we terminated our three-week shutdown in Germany and Italy as planned. Thanks to the decree of the Italian government, we can now also restart production in Sasso Marconi near Bologna. This means that all of our sites are now fully operational again. Naturally, work at all sites resumes in compliance with the applicable pandemic control regulations and respecting proximity and hygiene rules."

Company profile:

Manz AG - passion for efficiency

Founded in 1987, Manz AG is a global high-tech equipment manufacturing company. Its business activities cover the areas of Solar, Electronics, Energy Storage, Contract Manufacturing and Service.

With many years of expertise in automation, laser processing, vision and metrology, wet chemistry and roll-to-roll processes, the company offers manufacturers and their suppliers innovative production solutions in the areas of photovoltaics, electronics, and lithium-ion battery technology. The company's product portfolio includes both customer-specific developments and standardized single machines and modules, which can be linked to create complete custom systems. Manz AG offers high-quality, needs-based solutions that can be integrated early into customer projects to contribute significantly to customer success.

The company, listed on the stock exchange in Germany since 2006, develops and produces in Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, China and Taiwan. It also has sales and service branches in the USA and India. Manz AG currently employs roughly 1,600 workers worldwide, around half of whom work in the Asia region, which is key to the company's target industries. Manz Group revenue in the 2019 financial year totalled around 264 million euros.

Contact

Manz AG
Axel Bartmann
Phone: +49 (0)7121 - 9000-395
Fax: +49 (0)7121 - 9000-99
e-mail:

cometis AG
Claudius Krause
Phone: +49 (0)611 - 205855-28
Fax: +49 (0)611 - 205855-66
e-mail: