Bosch Packaging Technology's Strategy is Producing Rapid Growth
Mr Friedbert Klefenz President of Bosch Packaging Technology, at the Annual Press Conference at Anuga FoodTec
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to welcome you to Bosch Packaging Technology's press conference at Anuga FoodTec. Together with my colleague, Dr Günther Burkhard, I would like to provide you with an overview of our company's development and also introduce our innovations we launch at the show.
Bosch Packaging Technology looks back on 2011 as a very successful business year. We were able to increase sales by over ten percent to 791 million euros. This means that we have again grown significantly faster than our relevant market. This development confirms that our international growth strategy has paid off. Overall, our company employs 4,700 associates worldwide - 230 more than a year ago.
We are confident that the current financial year will be similarly successful. Our confidence is built on our order intake. With a volume of 894 million euros it reached a new peak at the end of 2011. This is 14 percent higher than the previous year's figure. As you may know, in the pharmaceutical and food industries, orders for packaging machines are less dependent on economic fluctuations than in other areas of engineering. This is confirmed by the stable development of our order intake, which has continued over the first months of this year.
We especially see strong opportunities for growth in Asia and Latin America. For the established North American and European markets, we are expecting an overall positive market development. But substantial market potential exists elsewhere, not least in Africa. This is why we are the first major supplier of packaging machines with an own assembly location in South Africa.
At present, we are expecting Bosch Packaging Technology to reach an overall sales volume of over 850 million euros in the current financial year. Over the past few years, we have been increasing our presence in the emerging markets, for instance in India, Thailand and South Africa.
However, one of the most remarkable examples of internationalization is our commitment in China. Ten years ago, we started in China with 13 associates. Today we employ almost 400 at Hangzhou in Zhejiang province. In addition to the expansion of our Hangzhou site, Bosch Packaging Technology is now producing in Chengdu.
With our production facilities in China, Bosch primarily serves the regional packaging machine market, which is estimated to grow by an annual average of 15 percent over the coming years. We will use the new location to create additional capacity because our existing facility will reach its limit within the next two years. Customers want machines capable of packaging products faster while saving more space and energy and achieving even shorter changeover times. In this regard, Chinese development mirrors what we have seen elsewhere, particularly in Europe. In Europe, the market has developed into cut-throat competition. Customers tend to make purchasing decisions when they are introducing new products and new packaging materials, or when they need to update their technology in order to maintain their costs at current levels.
In the Liquid Food segment we are setting new standards. As Dr Burkhard will explain in more detail, at Anuga we are presenting a newly developed generation of thermoforming machines. Our family of SurePOUCH pack styles is certainly setting a new standard - especially the package itself. It creates substantial benefits with regard to weight, flexibility, size and design.
For our customers, these innovations create a number of new opportunities for packaging a variety of food products better and more attractively. The new technologies provide gentle product handling and therefore preserve the value of the product. They help our customers meet the increasing demands of end users. This includes providing our customers with the ability to switch to new types of packaging without a substantial rearrangement of their production equipment. Here Bosch Packaging Technology can offer flexible solutions.
Flexibility and cost-effectiveness of production facilities are of increasing importance to our customers. Having a reliable partner for purchasing equipment and beyond is seen as crucial. This is why we are expanding our services globally so that we can reach our customers on-site quickly. We are also aligning our services with current market requirements. And from my perspective, we do this very successfully. An example is the
E-Portal, an ordering platform for spare parts that is available for our customers 24/7. This makes ordering spare parts very easy. At Anuga FoodTec we are also presenting our Preventive Maintenance concept. This service is aimed at ensuring that necessary maintenance operations are carried out at the right time and at regular intervals. Preventive Maintenance services range from basic modules like line check-ups to comprehensive maintenance packages involving a full-time, on-site service engineer.
Combined with our pioneering technological innovations, our service portfolio is one that only large corporations like Bosch Packaging Technology can provide. In our view, the market for packaging machines will concentrate and fundamentally transform over the coming years. My colleague Dr Günther Burkhard will now explain the new technologies Bosch is presenting at Anuga FoodTec.
