German multinational Siemens has changed its mind concerning the establishment of a new company in Israel, which would encompass the activities of Siemens’ agent in Israel as well. Instead, , according to the head of Siemens Israel, Siemens will continue to operate via Siemens Israel in the format it has used for the past two years, and will add new operations.
Two months ago, the Siemens head office said, during a journalists’ tour of the company’s plant in Germany, they intended to set up a new company in Israel to replace its existing agencies, in which it would hold at least 51%, while the remainder would be owned by local agencies. These include Y. Zigler which represents Siemens’ heavy machinery to the Israel Electric Corporation, and Nisko which represents Siemens’ lighter equipment to IEC.
According to Siemens’ sources, a decision has been made to reverse this plan as it has become clear that the investment necessary in setting up the new company is too great. The activities of the new company would be extraneous as the multinational’s head office is satisfied with the performance of the Israeli agencies.
Negotiations to integrate the agencies into the new company had already reached an advanced stage, and were to have been concluded in January-February of this year.
Among the areas not handled by the local Siemens agencies are computer support and maintenence of energy-related equipment. These will be handled by Siemens Israel, which manages the multinationals’ investments in the Palestinian Authority and in locating new business opportunities. Siemens also plans to redouble efforts in the private telephone exchange field.