Despite the corona pandemic
Weidmüller remains optimistic for 2020
In 2019, Weidmüller achieved growth of one percent compared to the previous year. Despite the coronavirus crisis and short-time working in the administrative area for the month of May, the company is cautiously optimistic about 2020.
The Weidmüller Group can look back on a mixed 2019 financial year. In a difficult market environment, for which the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association reported a decline in sales of 1.8%, the company generated sales of EUR 830 million. This corresponds to sales growth of just under one percent. "In view of the economic slowdown in the second half of the year and the general economic conditions, we are nevertheless satisfied with the result," explains CEO and Chief Technology Officer Volker Bibelhausen.
While the first half of 2019 was still characterized by a stable economic situation, the second half of the year saw a significant global downturn. "We are facing enormous challenges, but we are confident that we will not only overcome them, but also grow from them. The entry into future markets such as electromobility, but also further automation and business with IIoT solutions will help us in the future," says Bibelhausen.
This year, for the first time, these figures were published as part of an online press conference due to the canceled Hannover Messe. The Detmold-based company wanted to present many highlights in Hanover this year, not least to celebrate its 170th anniversary. To present its product innovations, the electrical engineering company created a digital trade fair instead.
Growth in core business and digitalization solutions
Weidmüller recorded growth of one percent, particularly in the area of mounting rail components, markers, printers, assembly and consulting. In the area of intelligent components and solutions, growth was as high as six percent. "Business here was driven by strong demand for our latest terminal block family as well as our automation products around u-remote and our power supplies," explains Bibelhausen. Only the device and field wiring segment and the OEM business were down three percent on the previous year. "The decline here is mainly due to the high sensitivity and rapid reaction of customers in the power electronics sector to economic fluctuations," says Bibelhausen. In contrast, growth was recorded in the field wiring segment, which is benefiting significantly from the unbroken trend towards decentralization in automation and electrification.
Investment in research and development
In 2019, Weidmüller invested more than six percent of its turnover in research and development, amounting to 53 million euros. A total of 408 employees are involved in the development of new solutions and products within the company. At the same time, Weidmüller invested almost 60 million euros in the modernization and expansion of its global production network. "The focus here was on completing the third wing of our customer and technology center as well as our production sites in China, Thuringia and Romania," explains CFO André Sombecki.
Digitalization in the core business, expansion of the IIoT portfolio
In Weidmüller's core business around terminal blocks, the company has established digital services and other solutions and components for automatic assembly and marking. The aim here is to make workflows and processes more efficient for panel builders and fitters through coordinated production processes. This includes the RailAssembler, which can be used to automatically mount terminal blocks on a mounting rail, explains Bibelhausen.
At the same time, Weimüller is further expanding its portfolio in the Industrial Internet of Things sector - with solutions for the acquisition, forwarding, processing and visualization of data. The company had already announced last year that it would be investing more heavily in the IIoT sector. The first products, such as the IoT terminal, were presented at the SPS trade fair in Nuremberg. It enables efficient and cost-effective status monitoring of decentralized machines and systems. "We are rounding off our range with sensors for recording data and are continuously expanding it. The portfolio is rounded off by the Industrial Analytics offering and the Automated Machine Learning Tool for data evaluation. Based on seamless recordings of sensor, status and process data, customers can make reliable predictions about the quality of their products," says Bibelhausen.
The topic of electromobility will also continue to gain momentum over the next few years. "We presented our AC charging station for the first time at eMove360 in October and received a lot of positive feedback," explains Bibelhausen. The electronics specialist attaches particular importance to simple installation and a high level of user-friendliness - for example, how the plug is attached to the charging station and how the cable is wound up. To this end, Weidmüller acquired a 25.1 percent stake in the Paderborn-based company Wallbe in 2019.
Cautiously positive outlook for 2020
According to the company, the outlook for 2020 is difficult due to the current situation. "There were already many uncertainties at the beginning of the year that made us cautious about the future," says Sombecki. In the first quarter, Weidmüller recorded an order situation at the previous year's level. However, this weakened significantly in April. "We are therefore satisfied that, despite all the uncertainties, we have been able to get through this crisis reasonably well so far. We are seeing the slowdown and must continue to act as cautious merchants. We are therefore continuing to consider all options in order to be able to react to a changed situation at short notice. To this end, there will also be short-time working in the administrative area for the month of May. We are taking a 'cautious approach' here and are carefully weighing up all further steps," Sombecki continues.
"In China, we were already confronted with the effects of the coronavirus crisis at the beginning of the year. However, the situation here recovered relatively quickly in March. We are seeing that the economy can recover quickly after a crisis situation and pick up speed again. Something that we are also currently assuming for the second half of 2020," adds Chief Sales Officer Dr. Timo Berger. "We are therefore setting the course to really get going again in 2021. In any case, our plans and investments in locations and technologies are geared towards the long term," says Bibelhausen. as
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