The Trumpf Group (www.trumpf.com) achieved a 10.8% increase in sales in the 2016/17 fiscal year (to 30 June).

Preliminary calculations indicate that sales amounted to 3.1 billion euros (up from 2.8 billion euros in 2015/16), while orders received rose from 2.8 billion euros to 3.4 billion euros — an increase of 21.1%.

Once again, Germany was the biggest single market (sales of 642 million euros), followed by the USA (416 million euros) and China (398 million euros).

Trumpf says that sales in South Korea — where many of its customers in the electronics industry have their base — were particularly encouraging, rising by 57% to reach 209 million euros. This made South Korea Trumpf’s fourth-biggest market world-wide .

In Europe, Italy (up 34%) and the Netherlands (up 55%) were the top individual performers. In the Netherlands, sales were boosted by business with chip manufacturer ASML, to which Trumpf supplies lasers that use extreme ultra-violet radiation to process chip surfaces for the computer industry.

Trumpf subsidiary Hüttinger, in Freiburg, had a good year, recording sales of 118 million euros — up 52%. The number of employees in the Group rose by 6% to reach about 12,000.

Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, Trumpf CEO, attributes the upturn in group sales to a strong global economy. “In many markets, we exceeded our targets, with an equal contribution from all our products, but we know that the current investment climate has been influenced by external factors such as the euro exchange rate and raw-material prices.”

She also pointed out that Trumpf has used the last year to drive ahead with its investment in the digital business platform AXOOM, as well as the expansion of locations in Germany and abroad.

Examples include the completion of production and sales facilities in Warsaw (Poland) and Neukirch (Germany), as well as a logistics centre at its headquarters in Ditzingen (built at a cost of 35 million euros and due to be unveiled to the public on 19 October).

Trumpf has also built a 13 million euro Industry 4.0 demonstration facility in Chicago, which will be opened on
12 September.