"We are delighted to have achieved another record result after 2021 despite many challenges," says Managing Director Katrin Stegmaier-Hermle. "We are proud of this milestone in our company history and would like to thank all our employees for their great commitment." Across all three regions of the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific, turnover increased by 13% from EUR 504 million in the previous year to EUR 567 million for the Group as a whole. As of December 31, 2022, Balluff employed 3,703 people at 38 locations worldwide, four percent more than in 2021.

Strengthening the global network

"Balluff is continuing to grow consistently. By expanding our production capacities in our three regions, we are creating the necessary conditions for this," says Managing Director Frank Nonnenmann. We are strengthening our global network of production and development sites and logistics: Balluff is investing around 50 million euros in the construction of a new production facility in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The Smart Factory is scheduled to go into operation this fall.

Balluff is also expanding its site in Veszprém, Hungary, adding more production space and a new, modern logistics center. The high-volume production plant in Chengdu, China, is also being expanded - production levels are rising. "The regionalization of our supply chains across three major regions of the world is in full swing," says Nonnenmann. "This will enable us to achieve stable global supply chains and shorter delivery times, thereby also driving forward the issue of sustainability."

Balluff is continuing to develop its headquarters in Neuhausen into an innovation and competence center. The new administration and development building with around 500 workstations is due to be occupied in 2024. The existing building will also be renovated. A new logistics center for the EMEA region is planned for 2026. "We are delighted that the municipality of Neuhausen is open to our construction project and that we can continue with the planning phase," says Stegmaier-Hermle.

Focus on diversification

The company plans to further diversify its customer base in 2023. The focus will be on the food and packaging industry as well as alternative drives and battery production for e-mobility in the automotive sector. In addition to the production of standard components for industrial automation, the company is also increasingly focusing on the development of customer-specific solutions for sensor and camera technology. Thanks to its expertise in machine vision combined with in-depth industry know-how, Balluff is positioning itself as a technology supplier for suppliers in the semiconductor industry and the life sciences sector.

New ideas within the company

Balluff continues to use its Strategic Incubation Programs (SIPs) to develop new business ideas. Similar to a start-up, these drive innovation within the company and focus on speed and consistent customer orientation. The resulting solutions, such as the Smart Reordering System for dynamic inventory management or the Condition Monitoring Toolkit (CMTK) for monitoring the condition of machines, systems and processes, are now being used by numerous customers.

Image processing at a glance

Balluff sees growth opportunities for products in the field of image processing - especially if they have interfaces that combine classic automation technology with information technology. "Our new BVS IdentSensor is a suitable example of this. With additional functions for smart condition monitoring, it extends classic data transmission. We are using MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) as an interface for the first time. The integrated open network protocol for IoT communication enables automatic and simple data exchange between the sensor and server," says Managing Director Florian Hermle. "This makes it easier for customers to gain insight into the current status of the entire system."