Positive business development for 2010

Beckhoff Automation closed the financial year 2009 with a worldwide turnover of 236 million euros; that corresponds to a decrease of 15 percent in comparison with the previous year. Beckhoff employs 1350 people worldwide (a 10 percent increase compared with the previous year).

“Following a very successful year in 2008, we, like most other organisations, had to accept losses in 2009 due to the world economic crisis,” Hans Beckhoff summarises. The managing director is not dissatisfied, however. “We have come through the crisis year in acceptable fashion, have remained profitable and have invested further in the development of our products and in the expansion of production and sales. We have won many new projects, especially during the crisis of 2009. In these difficult times, the mechanical engineering and plant construction industries have been looking for more economical and more powerful controllers. We offer precisely the right solutions here, with our fundamental technologies such as PC-based control, EtherCAT and XFC, so that the market’s system decisions were frequently made in our favour.”

Beckhoff Automation expects a very positive business development in 2010: “The second half of 2009 already showed an upturn and the first quarter of 2010 was characterised by extremely strong growth. The industry has regained its foothold again at home and abroad.” In 2010, therefore, the company wants not only to compensate for the downturn in 2009, but also expects acceptable growth in the two-year comparison.

Foreign trade segment rose sharply

Beckhoff was able to gain many new customers worldwide, so that turnover from foreign trade grew in 2009 to 50 percent, up from 44 percent of total business. “We are benefitting here in particular from economic growth in the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China),” explains Kai Ristau, International Sales Manager at Beckhoff Automation: “We have set the ambitious target of increasing our foreign business to over 65 percent of turnover by the year 2015. As far as global development is concerned, China in particular should be highlighted. After Germany, China is now the country with the strongest turnover, closely followed by the United States.”

Beckhoff has continued to develop its sales commitment in Europe with the establishment of subsidiaries in Norway and in the United Kingdom. With 24 subsidiaries and additional distributors currently, Beckhoff is represented in over 60 countries worldwide. The number of subsidiaries is set to rise to 30 by the end of 2010 with the founding of further companies, e.g. in Malaysia, Israel and Japan.