Press manufacturer Schuler enjoyed further growth in the first six months of its current fiscal year. Aided by new products and a strong demand in Asia and the Americas, new orders were up 10.5% year-on-year to 554.6 million euros; the group also raised its net profit by 10.1% to 25.1 million euros in the first half of 2014.

Schuler now expects sales of 1.1 – 1.2 billion euros for 2014. The status of current projects means that revenue after six months is slightly down on the previous year at 540.2 million euros, but the order backlog of around 1.1 billion euros secures Schuler’s capacitiy into 2015.

Speaking at the presentation of the half-year results, Schuler CEO Stefan Klebert said: “With two major orders for spiral pipe lines for the production of large pipes, and several orders for the latest generation of servo presses, we have been able to successfully tap into new markets and seek out new customers.”

In Dalian, China, the company recently built a large-scale production facility; while in the port of Tianjin in northern China a demonstration centre is currently being constructed.

The picture shows a new large-scale boring machine being installed at Schuler’s Erfurt plant; it is the company’s largest single investment at this facility.