In the 2015-2016 financial year, Engel was again able to achieve an increase in turnover. Worldwide, the Engel Group with headquarters in Schwertberg, Austria, generated 1.25 billion euros in turnover. For Engel's current financial year, the numbers continue to point to growth. "The order books are well-filled," reports the Engel management. In the 2016-2017 financial year, almost 100 million euros are being invested in the further expansion of facilities and capacities. Austria is one area of focus for investments. All of the company's regions and fields of business contribute to Engel's continuing success. "In the 2015-2016 financial year, we were able to consolidate our excellent market position in Europe and have expanded our market shares in Asia and America even further," reports Dr. Christoph Steger, CSO of Engel Holding. Despite the overall slight slowdown in growth and the decline in a few individual markets, Engel is expecting order intake to remain at a high level for the 2016-2017 financial year.
Engel's extensive system solution and technology expertise belong to the significant factors sustaining this growth. "The European markets, in particular Germany, are still the motors for innovation," emphasises Steger. "And even in America and Asia we are delivering more and more tailor-made solutions for sophisticated applications which include not just the injection moulding machine, but also automation, process technology or mould technology."
Another factor for success is the quality. "The same high standards for quality apply in all Engel Group factories," says Dr. Peter Neumann, CEO of Engel Holding. "Our staff also have a high level of qualification worldwide. We achieve this through our own apprenticeship programmes and extensive continuing education measures." More than 5200 staff members were employed by Engel as of the close of the 2015-2016 financial year that ended in March. Engel is hiring further employees on all continents.
Engel in the international markets
Asia: the most important growth market - high-tech is in demandAsia is the most important growth market for Engel, although the overall growth in China, the largest market there, continues to slow down. The trend towards greater quality, the pressure on prices that is also increasing in Asia, and the new challenges facing society are making it necessary to invest in advanced technology and automation in an increasing number of areas. Engel is benefiting from this trend. "Electromobility is increasingly coming into focus in Asia," says Dr. Stefan Engleder, Chief Technical Officer at Engel Holding, naming an example. "Similar to Europe, research institutes and material producers in Asia are pushing ahead with innovative composite technologies. In our Center for Lightweight Composite Technologies, Engel engages in intensive collaboration with customers and partners to develop economical processing methods for the new materials."
Lightweight design is not only a motor for innovation in automobile manufacturing. The consumer electronics industry is also closely investigating composite materials with the goal of making their products lighter and thinner. "We are presenting the next step in this development at the K trade show," says Engleder. "Thermoplastic fabrics will for example replace magnesium frames in laptops and thus not only improve the product characteristics, but also lead to an even more efficient manufacturing process. We see enormous potential in this area."
