German industrial holding company Voith has shown interest in becoming an investor in the country's Airbus plants, for which the airframer is seeking buyers or partners.
Voith is active in the technical facility management, automotive component, hydroelectric and paper-processing equipment industries.
The company has a turnover of more than €3.7 billion ($5 billion) and employs 34,000 people, half of them in Germany. Heidenheim-based Voith declines to comment on the Airbus issue.
However, a source familiar with the proposed divestment of the plants says that the company has expressed an interest in Airbus parent EADS's facilities in Germany, notably the Nordenham, Varel and Augsburg sites.
Several of the German Airbus sites are covered by the EADS proposals. The Nordenham site handles manufacture of fuselage shells, while Varel produces structural components.
EADS said earlier this month that it was considering adding its Augsburg facility to the partnership list, and said that the combination of the Augsburg plant with the centres at Nordenham and Varel could create a new risk-sharing partner for Airbus.
Source: Flight International
