Andritz

Andritz is an Austrian multinational technology group headquartered in Graz. The company supplies plants, equipment, systems and services to capital-intensive industrial sectors, with a business model that combines project engineering, machinery manufacturing, process technology, automation, aftermarket support and long-term service. Its name comes from the Andritz district of Graz, where the original factory was established in the nineteenth century. The company traces its origins to 1852, when Hungarian ironmonger Joseph Körösi founded a small iron foundry in the then-independent municipality of Andritz. The business expanded rapidly during the industrialization of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, producing steam hammers, bridges, boilers, steam engines and mining machinery. After financial difficulties in the 1870s and early 1880s, ownership passed to Österreichische Alpine Montanunion, a Styrian iron and steel association that preceded voestalpine. Under that ownership, the works manufactured large industrial machinery, including rolling mills and steam engines. In 1900, industrialist Max von Gutmann acquired the company and reorganized it as Maschinenfabrik Andritz Actiengesellschaft. The reorganized business developed crane construction and high-pressure centrifugal pumps, while also serving railways, mines, waterworks and other heavy industries. World War I redirected production toward military goods, and the collapse of Austria-Hungary after 1918 caused severe shortages, inflation and loss of markets. The Great Depression produced another major interruption, including a temporary shutdown in 1932. During the Anschluss and World War II, the company was transferred through politically influenced transactions and became part of the German industrial economy. Production included cranes, conveyors and military-related components, and forced labor was used during the later war years. After 1945, much of the plant was confiscated as German property. The company nevertheless restarted with rented equipment and gradually refocused on pumps, turbines, cranes and steel structures. A cooperation with Escher Wyss helped Andritz enter water-turbine and complete-paper-machine production. The modern Andritz Group emerged through restructuring, internationalization and acquisitions from the late 1980s onward. After a severe crisis associated with the second oil shock and the early-1980s global slowdown, the company reduced its workforce, closed its foundry and sought to become an independent supplier of complete high-technology production systems rather than primarily a licensee. Acquisitions in North America and Europe expanded its capabilities in pulp and paper, animal-feed processing, filtration, drying, metal processing, hydropower and centrifugation. The company adopted the Andritz AG name in the mid-1990s and entered the Vienna Stock Exchange in 2001. As of January 2024, Andritz is organized around four principal business areas: Hydro, Pulp & Paper, Metals, and Environment & Energy. Hydro covers turbines, generators, electromechanical equipment, rehabilitation and services for hydropower plants. Pulp & Paper supplies equipment and complete production lines for pulp, paper, tissue, nonwovens and related processes. Metals provides lines for the production and processing of cold-rolled carbon steel, stainless steel and non-ferrous strips, including furnaces, presses, galvanizing and acid-regeneration systems. Environment & Energy serves municipal and industrial water treatment, sludge processing, separation, biomass, renewable energy and related environmental applications. Andritz operates through more than 280 production and service facilities in over 40 countries and employs more than 29,100 people according to the referenced company overview. Its customers include utilities, pulp and paper producers, steel and metal manufacturers, municipalities, industrial processors and operators of environmental infrastructure. The group’s…

Andritz began in 1852 as an iron foundry founded by Joseph Körösi in Andritz, then a separate municipality near Graz. The works quickly diversified into heavy industrial products. By the late 1850s it made steam hammers and iron bridges, and by 1870 its workforce had grown to roughly 1,300. It later added boilers, steam engines and mining machinery. Following Körösi’s death in 1871, the company encountered financial and operational difficulties. A severe economic downturn, high labor costs and weak order levels led to mass redundancies. In the early 1880s, the indebted factory passed to Österreichische Alpine Montanunion, a Styrian iron and steel organization. Andritz then became an important producer of large machinery for the group’s mines and works, including rolling mills and steam engines. It also developed industrial equipment for the Austrian Navy and other heavy-industry customers. Max von Gutmann purchased the business in 1900 and reorganized it as Maschinenfabrik Andritz Actiengesellschaft. The company strengthened its commercial organization and benefited from railway construction. New crane and centrifugal-pump departments were established in 1906. Before World War I, its pumps were used extensively by Austrian mines and waterworks, while the factory continued to supply major industrial companies across Austria-Hungary. World War I disrupted civilian orders and redirected production toward military requirements, including presses, shell casings and ammunition wagons. The dissolution of Austria-Hungary after the war caused further market losses, raw-material shortages and inflation. Andritz returned gradually to civil engineering, supplying railways, hydroelectric stations, pumps and turbines, while also exporting to customers in several foreign markets. The Great Depression forced a temporary production stoppage in 1932, followed by a restart supported by the Austrian government. After the 1938 Anschluss, ownership changed through politically coercive circumstances. The company became connected with German industrial owners and benefited from wartime state demand. It produced cranes, conveyors and military-related components, and forced labor was used during the later stages of the war. After 1945, production facilities were largely confiscated as German property. Management restarted operations with rented machinery, initially concentrating on small and medium-sized pumps and turbines. The postwar business was reshaped through a cooperation with Swiss engineering company Escher Wyss. Steam engines and air compressors were discontinued, while water turbines, centrifugal pumps, cranes, steel structures and paper machinery became more important. During the 1960s and 1970s, Andritz expanded its facilities, modernized production and increased research activity. In 1977 it received Austria’s state award, allowing use of the federal coat of arms in business dealings. The second oil crisis and global stagnation in the early 1980s created another existential crisis. State support and rationalization between 1981 and 1985 prevented liquidation. The foundry was closed and the workforce was reduced from about 2,300 to 1,600. Operating profitability returned in 1987, the same year German investment company AGIV acquired a majority stake. Management then pursued a strategic transformation from a machinery licensee into an international supplier of proprietary, integrated production systems. The acquisition of Sprout-Bauer in the United States initiated a broader expansion program, adding refiners and animal-feed equipment. Further purchases included Durametal, Kone Wood, Jesma-Matador, Sundwiger Eisenhütte, parts of Ahlström Machinery, the pulp-and-paper dryer business of Asea Brown Boveri, and companies specializing in simulation, screening, filtration, presses, drying and metal processing. In the mid-1990s, the corporate name changed from Maschinenfabrik Andritz AG to Andritz AG. Andritz listed new shares on the Vienna Stock Exchange in 2001 and continued to grow through acquisitions. The group added hydropower capabilities through the acquisition of VA Tech Hydro in 2006, centrifuge technology through KMPT in 2010, and plastic-film production systems through DMT Technology, which became associated with Andritz Biax. Other acquisitions and integrations expanded its environmental, pulp, paper, metals and energy portfolios. Today, Andritz is a diversified international technology group organized around Hydro, Pulp & Paper, Metals, and Environment & Energy. It combines machinery and plant engineering with automation, process know-how, commissioning, modernization and service. The group’s global manufacturing and service network supports customers in utilities, manufacturing, infrastructure and resource-processing industries.

1. 2010Expansion into centrifuges and plastic-film systems

   Andritz acquired KMPT and DMT Technology, adding centrifuge and biaxial plastic-film production capabilities.

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2. 2006Acquisition of VA Tech Hydro

   The purchase of VA Tech Hydro’s hydropower division substantially strengthened Andritz’s Hydro business.

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3. 2001Vienna Stock Exchange listing

   Andritz placed new shares on the Vienna Stock Exchange, supporting further acquisition-led expansion.

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4. 1995Adoption of the Andritz AG name

   The company’s name changed from Maschinenfabrik Andritz AG to Andritz AG as its international systems-supplier strategy developed.

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5. 1987Return to operating profitability and AGIV investment

   After restructuring, the company returned to operating profit and AGIV acquired a majority stake.

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6. 1977Receipt of Austria’s state award

   Andritz received the state award and authorization to use Austria’s federal coat of arms in business dealings.

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7. 1949Cooperation with Escher Wyss

   A long-term cooperation began, initially focused on water turbines and later extending to complete paper machines.

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8. 1906Expansion into cranes and centrifugal pumps

   The company created dedicated departments for crane construction and high-pressure centrifugal pumps.

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9. 1900Reorganization as Maschinenfabrik Andritz Actiengesellschaft

   Max von Gutmann acquired the company and reorganized it as a stock corporation.

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10. 1852Founding of the Andritz works

    Joseph Körösi established an iron foundry in Andritz, creating the industrial foundation of the later Andritz Group.

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A global industrial technology partner providing engineered equipment, complete plants, automation and lifecycle services for hydropower, pulp and paper, metals, and environmental and energy applications.

• HydroHydropower equipment and services

  Andritz Hydro supplies turbines, generators and electromechanical systems for new hydropower installations, as well as rehabilitation, modernization and service for existing plants. Its historical portfolio developed from postwar water-turbine and pump production and was later strengthened by the acquisition of VA Tech Hydro. Offerings can cover individual machines, balance-of-plant equipment, controls and complete hydropower projects.

• Pulp & PaperPulp, paper and tissue machinery

  The Pulp & Paper business provides process equipment and complete production systems spanning wood handling, pulping, screening, washing, bleaching, drying, baling and paper-related operations. Acquisitions and technology partnerships expanded Andritz from individual machines into integrated lines. The business also supplies equipment for tissue, nonwovens and selected fiber-processing applications, together with automation and lifecycle services.

• MetalsMetal strip-processing equipment

  Andritz Metals designs and builds lines for producing and further processing cold-rolled carbon steel, stainless steel and non-ferrous metal strip. Technologies include rolling mills, furnaces, presses, galvanizing systems, acid-regeneration equipment and coil-processing machinery. The group’s related businesses include slitter knives and tooling, furnace systems and coil-processing equipment for ferrous and non-ferrous metal producers.

• Environment & EnergyEnvironmental and energy-processing systems

  Environment & Energy covers separation, filtration, dewatering, drying and related systems for municipal and industrial wastewater, sludge, biomass and other process streams. The portfolio includes centrifuges, chamber filter presses, fluidized-bed drying and other technologies added through historical acquisitions. The business addresses resource recovery, emissions reduction, renewable-energy processes and industrial environmental compliance.

• Industrial automation and servicesAutomation, digitalization and lifecycle support

  Across its business areas, Andritz supplies automation, electrical systems, process controls, engineering, commissioning, spare parts, maintenance, upgrades and plant-performance services. These capabilities support the group’s strategy of acting as a long-term technology partner rather than only an equipment vendor. Services are applied to both new installations and the modernization of installed industrial assets.

• 2024Organization around four business areasStrategy

  The diversified group had developed capabilities across several industrial markets.

  What changed. Andritz organized its activities under Hydro, Pulp & Paper, Metals, and Environment & Energy.

  Aftermath. The structure presents Andritz as a multi-sector industrial technology provider with equipment, plant engineering and service capabilities.

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• 2006Acquisition of VA Tech HydroM&A

  Andritz aimed to strengthen its position in hydropower and broaden its ability to deliver complete electromechanical systems.

  What changed. Andritz acquired the hydropower division of VA Tech Hydro.

  Aftermath. Hydropower became one of the group’s principal business areas and a major part of its international offering.

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• 2001Initial public offering and capital expansionOther

  Andritz required capital to continue its international acquisition and technology-expansion program.

  What changed. The company placed two million new shares on the Vienna Stock Exchange.

  Aftermath. The additional capital supported subsequent acquisitions and the continued development of the Andritz Group.

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• 1987Shift toward proprietary international systemsStrategy

  Management sought to move beyond the role of a licensee of other machine manufacturers.

  What changed. The company pursued technology development, international sales and complementary acquisitions to provide integrated production systems.

  Aftermath. This strategy became the basis for Andritz’s later expansion across pulp and paper, hydropower, metals, environment and energy.

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• 1981Restructuring to avoid liquidationStrategy

  The second oil crisis and the early-1980s global slowdown caused orders to fall and losses to increase.

  What changed. Andritz underwent state-supported restructuring and rationalization, including closure of the foundry and a substantial workforce reduction.

  Aftermath. The company returned to operating profitability in 1987 and began repositioning itself as an international supplier of complete high-technology systems.

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• 2024Andritz operates through four principal business areas

  The group structure described in the reference material comprises Hydro, Pulp & Paper, Metals, and Environment & Energy.

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• 2024Andritz operates four principal business areas

  The group structure described for January 2024 comprised Hydro, Pulp and Paper, Metals, and Environment and Energy.

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• 2022Andritz reports 2022 revenue of approximately EUR 7.5 billion

  The referenced company overview reports revenue of approximately EUR 7.5 billion and net income of EUR 402.6 million for 2022.

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1. Andritz AG
2. Andritz official website