NEWS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
GEA 2020
GEA has undergone significant corporate restructuring globally to consolidate its previous standalone segments into a single global organisation with two business areas: Equipment Business Area and Solutions Business Area, with a OneGEA sales and service organisations in the countries. The integrated business areas and single GEA organisation at country level will offer a more customer-focused approach.
Previously, GEA within southern and eastern Africa operated as four separate legal entities( GEA Process Engineering, GEA Westfalia Separator SA, GEA Food Solutions SA and GEA Refrigeration Africa), each with its own management team, support and operational staff, offices and client base. The new business model transforms GEA from a complex and fragmented organisation into a consistent, easy‐to‐understand and aligned organisation, able to deliver a truly customer‐centric value proposition. As such, GEA is merging all of its activities within southern and eastern Africa( and globally within each country cluster) into a single entity with equipment sales, solution sales and service across all applications and technologies that were previously found within the separate entities.
Previously there were up to eight layers between customers and the executive board, but now it’ s been simplified to only four.“ It’ s now easier for the customer to get in touch with the right person,” explains Ken Reed, managing director of GEA southern and eastern Africa. The restructuring project, aptly named‘ Fit for 2020’, will help GEA to substantially reduce complexity within the day‐to‐day business activities by optimising organisational structures and processes. The new OneGEA organisation will benefit from increased customer proximity; shorter decision lines; clear and scalable structures; standardised processes; and increased efficiency and excellence in operations and support functions.“ The two business areas, together with service, can now deliver greater benefits to our customers,” says Reed.“ With streamlined product innovation, the time to market is optimised and— coupled with our global production networks— delivery is improved. In addition, we are more equipped to provide our customers with full transparency regarding the full potential of GEA’ s products and solutions portfolio, thus ensuring optimum value to our customers’ businesses.” GEA southern and eastern Africa cluster forms part of the Western Europe, Middle East and Africa( WE-MEA) region and comprises 25 countries ranging from Ethiopia in the north‐east to South Africa in the south. GEA southern and eastern Africa’ s head office is
4 in Midrand( Johannesburg) and has been consolidated( that is, all previous segments are now in one location) as of 1 January 2016.“ This too has contributed towards better service delivery, with a consolidated warehouse facilitating improved stockholding and faster response time to our customers,” says Reed.
“ The overall goal for‘ GEA 2020’ is to evolve from a leading engineering company to a best‐in‐class player in every region. In particular, we want to be our customers’ first choice in the food industry, while maintaining growth within the non-food sectors. GEA focusses on six core applications with 24 sub-applications. The six applications are: dairy, beverage, food, chemical pharmaceuticals and utilities. By 2020 we aim to have an overall exposure of around 80 % in the food processing business,” describes Reed.
“ The new organisation also provides massive opportunities for our personnel( both existing and potential future employees), together with exposure to a wide range of technologies, applications and indeed locations,” explains Reed.“ We are committed to
1. GEA has undergone a significant corporate restructuring globally.
2. The restructured GEA.
providing our customers with the very best service across all of our activities and therefore we continue to invest heavily in our employees through various trainings, both locally and abroad.”
The roll‐out of‘ Fit for 2020’ started in Q2 2015 and so far GEA southern and eastern Africa has made huge progress with regard to consolidating its activities into a single OneGEA company.“ If all goes according to plan, we will have the new legal entity registered by the end of 2016, with all activities therein merged,” says Reed.
“ Our new organisation— combining all of GEA’ s technology, applications and operational excellence know‐how on a global scale— allows us to offer optimal technology, solutions and services to our diverse market. Our customers vary from small-and medium enterprises to large multinational accounts, covering a huge and equally diverse geographic and demographic‘ landscape’. Our local( expanding) presence within this region, staffed by a fantastic team of people, provides our customers with the value proposition best suited to their needs,” says Reed. CLA
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