"One in ten employees works in research and development. In addition to the headquarters in Sachseln, development work is carried out at six other local sites: In Germany, France and the Netherlands, as well as in Korea, China and the USA," says Karl-Walter Braun, the company's main shareholder. The existing production sites in Sachseln, Sexau, Veszprém and Cheonan have been joined by Taunton near Boston/USA, where the first production lines for motors and gearboxes have been set up. Maxon is now represented in all important global markets.

Growth in all global markets
In Europe, Germany remains the largest sales market, followed by Switzerland. Every sales company in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa) set a new sales record in 2018. Maxon also recorded its highest sales to date in the USA. In China, sales have doubled within five years. Medical technology remains the most important market, accounting for around 42 percent of sales, followed by industrial automation and robotics (27 percent), measurement and testing technology (seven percent), the automotive industry (5.3 percent) and aerospace (five percent).

Maxon trains a large number of apprentices in its companies. In cooperation with state institutions and the Swiss embassy, the company is also introducing a company apprenticeship scheme in South Korea, as well as in the new factory in the USA. "We have also set up our own lab at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. We are working on various topics there, such as an e-bike test bench that is one of the best in Switzerland," says Eugen Elmiger, CEO of the Maxon Group.

maxon has also opened an Innovation Lab in the EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne, where students and researchers work on developments, found start-ups or familiarize themselves with drive technology. In addition, maxon has been working closely with ETH Zurich on various research projects for many years.

Mars also remains an important driver of innovation. In recent months, Maxon engineers have developed several special drives for the NASA and ESA rover missions to Mars next year.

Moderate growth expected for 2019
"In 2019, we will continue to invest heavily in research and development, drive forward digitalization and further develop our global organizational structure," says Eugen Elmiger. Due to the generally uncertain economic development, Maxon expects moderate growth for the current financial year. As the company is broadly positioned and has a widely diversified customer portfolio, according to Elmiger, it is less affected if a single industry weakens. Incoming orders are currently around five percent higher than in the previous year.

Maxon comes in a new guise
As of July 1, 2019, Maxon Motor will no longer use the word "Motor" and will now operate under the "Maxon" brand. There are several reasons for this. On the one hand, the company is transforming itself from a motor and component manufacturer into a specialist for precise drive systems with a focus on five core markets (medical technology, aerospace, industrial automation, transportation and e-mobility & robotics). On the other hand, Maxon wants to adapt its corporate structure and present itself as a group with a global presence that nevertheless responds to local needs. The new name and the visual adaptation are intended to underline this change. as