Medical technology remains the strongest market segment with a 40% share of sales, followed by industrial automation with 28%. With investments of CHF 34 million in research and development and more than 360 employees at its R&D sites worldwide, the company has succeeded in launching more than 20 new motors and gearheads on the market, thereby further expanding its leading position as a manufacturer of high-quality drive components and systems. Thanks to the good order situation, maxon is looking to the future with confidence.

The main growth drivers are the innovative precision drives with high efficiency and the associated electronics for controlling complex motion sequences. The company produces at its sites in Sachseln/CH, Sexau/D, Veszprém/H, Cheonan/South Korea and soon also at the new factory in Taunton near Boston. In addition to the aforementioned locations, R&D is also based in China, France and the Netherlands.

Growth in all global markets
The biggest sales drivers in Europe are Germany, followed by Switzerland and the UK. Italy and the Iberian Peninsula also recorded significant growth. After several years of stagnation, strong growth was recorded in the USA. In Asia, maxon set new records in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. In China, maxon has seen double-digit growth in recent years. "Sales growth of 100 million within four years places the highest demands on a high-tech company in terms of quality and service. We have successfully mastered this challenge thanks to our well-trained employees," says Karl-Walter Braun, the company's main shareholder.

Every seventh employee at maxon works in Research & Development. Thanks to this constantly expanding expertise, the company launched more than 20 new electric motors, gearheads, encoders and controllers on the market last year. In the aerospace sector, the motors function even at temperatures as low as minus 130 degrees Celsius, while ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter space probe has to withstand temperatures of more than 350 degrees Celsius as it flies towards the sun. The powerful engines will be used in two ESA and NASA rover missions in 2020, after 15 years on the inhospitable planet Mars, although originally only a few weeks were planned.

"The "Mission 2020" growth strategy launched years ago with the clear goal of forward integration of drive systems is showing initial success," says Eugen Elmiger, CEO of the maxon Group. "For example, we were able to win a major order for pump systems to reduce nitrogen oxides in diesel vehicles in the highly competitive automotive market. We have also driven forward the development of complete electrically powered surgical instruments, as well as the sophisticated development of micro-pump systems used in minimally invasive heart surgery." Eugen Elmiger also expects healthy growth in the user-friendly and efficient high-performance multi-axis controllers from zub, a company acquired last year.

Good start to the new year
The first few months of the current year were characterized by strong growth within the Group. Orders on hand and sales in the first few months are up on the previous year. Due to the general economic trend, the company expects growth to slow down somewhat in the second half of the year. "We will therefore approach further expansion with the necessary caution," says Karl-Walter Braun.