Up to 550 jobs worldwide could be affected by a “long-term reform” of mailroom and finishing systems maker Müller Martini.

Chief executive Bruno Müller says the group is suffering from difficult economic conditions and continuing structural change in the graphics industry.

Although it has preserved its market position, revenues have “fallen massively” over the last four years, leading to consideration of a fundamental restructuring over coming months

“In order to survive in strong shape, we cannot avoid the need to operate on a smaller scale,” says Müller.

"However, by concentrating our forces, we will do our utmost to continue to intensify the comprehensive advice we provide to our customers on new investments and in particular in the service area.

“Our sales and service network regionalisation program, which was initiated last year, gives us a good starting point in this context.”

Options under consideration include consolidating the two main manufacturing sites in Zofingen and Felben, Switzerland, which are not operating at sufficient capacity. The company expects to make a decision “in the next few months”.

Reform is needed to preserve a future role as a leader in the shrunken global graphics industry through innovative printing and print finishing products together with a high-quality customer service, and to put the company on a sustainable and future-oriented foundation, a company statement says. “In addition, Müller Martini must adapt the size of the company to a scaled-back market to enable it to continue  investing in future-oriented product developments.

“The reason behind the on-going difficult situation is the fundamental transformation of the graphics industry. The resultant consolidation among printing companies has significantly reduced the customer base. Many existing and potential customers are holding back on investment – or are being prevented from investing in new equipment due to the lack of credit.

“There is significant pressure on prices and margins; in addition the strong Swiss franc exchange rate is having a detrimental impact on profit margins,” Müller Martini says in its statement.

In addition to the current plants for print finishing systems in Zofingen and bookbinding systems in Felben, Muller Martini has printing press operations in Maulburg and a book technology centre in Bad Mergentheim, both in Germany.