Siemens is planning to sell its Siemens Water Technologies business, which supplies water purification and wastewater treatment systems, and will, in future, focus on automation and drive systems for controlling water applications for municipalities and industry.

According to Siegfried Russwurm, CEO of Siemens` Industry Sector, the Water Technologies business, which recently underwent a comprehensive restructuring, “shows only minor synergies with our industrial portfolio, as the skills for water treatment are primarily based on chemical expertise. Instead of investing into that business, we want to gear our resources toward our core portfolio.”

“We will concentrate our water business on solutions along our core areas of expertise in electrical engineering,” adds Anton Huber, CEO of Siemens’ Industry Automation Division (above). “These are in the automation and drive technology used to operate waterworks and sewage plants as well as sea water desalination plants.”

He adds that Siemens is looking for the right buyer for its Water Technologies business, “with a sustainable growth perspective who is willing to invest in this business and generate more synergies.”

About 4,500 employees work for Siemens Water Technologies worldwide, of whom 3,000 are located in North America.