Engel ups its success; gears for Asia’s demands

Austrian injection moulding machinery maker Engel has excelled in the 2015/2016 financial year, following on from the previous year.

“We achieved an all time record year with a turnover of EUR1.25 billion, 16% over previous year of EUR1.07 billion,” said Christoph Steger, CSO of Engel Holding, speaking at a pre-K2016 event the company held at its headquarters in Schwertberg, Austria, recently.

“We were positively surprised to maintain a strong mark position,” he added. “We see incoming orders and sales to be on high level even this year.”

As for its market share, while Europe still takes the lion’s share at 55%; its market share in Asia has increased slightly to 20%.

“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,” said Steger.

And while Steger emphasised that the European markets, in particular Germany, are still the motors for innovation, he said that in America and Asia, Engel is delivering more tailor-made solutions for sophisticated applications which include not just the injection moulding machine, but also automation, process technology or mould technology.

Asia 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, said Steger.

He also said that lightweight technology is a focus and the company sees continued growth in market sectors like the automotive industry.

Teletronics follows the automotive industry as the second-strongest contributor to turnover for Engel in Asia. Growth motors include the fields of infotainment, vehicle assistance systems, automotive electronics and precision optical components.

According to Stefan Engleder, Chief Technical Officer, “With our all-electric, tie-bar-less Emotion TL injection moulding machines, we have gained a very good foothold in the market for precision optical parts and have been able to assert ourselves several times against Japanese competitors who have dominated the market until now.”

Packaging is also on a growth course. Above all, China and India have a great need for efficient and sustainable solutions for the fabrication of caps and closures for water and carbonated beverages. To cater to this, Engel has its all-electric e-cap machine series.

In Shanghai, Engel has already established an automation centre, opened its own mould technology department, and strengthened the application technology department.

Having celebrated 30 years in Asia, Engel is gearing up to opening its sixth subsidiary in Asia by the end of the year.

Having established its third plant in Asia in Changzhou, China, in 2013, Engel says it achieves 85% of its turnover in Asia with its local production.