Beckhoff Automation increases sales to 1.182 billion euros
Despite facing real challenges along the way, the 2021 financial year was a success for Beckhoff Automation. For the first time in its almost 42-year history, the Verl, Germany-based automation technology specialist exceeded the one billion euro mark in sales.
With a total worldwide result of 1.182 billion euros, the company increased its sales by around 28% compared to 2020. “This is a great result that we are incredibly proud of,” reports a delighted Managing Owner Hans Beckhoff, whose company recorded an unprecedented level of incoming orders. “We could definitely have seen even more growth last year, but the shortage of components along with our own capacities has held us back in some areas,” Hans Beckhoff clarifies the tense situation in many areas of industry.
Very positive economic developments in Germany, Europe, and around the world
For the German market, Beckhoff achieved a sales increase of around 27%, while the number of incoming orders more than doubled. Similar trends were also recorded by the company in many other countries where it sells its products. “With one or two exceptions, we made significant gains in 2021 in almost all countries with our own sales branches – often in the double-digit percentage range,” sums up the Managing Owner. He goes on to explain: “Our two largest subsidiaries in China and the USA also grew by around 34% and 22% respectively.” Similar to Germany, incoming orders abroad were mostly significantly higher than actual sales growth.
2021: a significant year for Beckhoff Automation
Automation technology is currently experiencing a real boom across all industries all over the world; however, demand is exceeding the production capacities of suppliers, who have been weakened further still by the effects of the global pandemic. For Beckhoff, this is particularly evident in the shortage of semiconductors and other electronic components. “This bottleneck is likely to continue in 2022,” predicts Hans Beckhoff, adding, “Nevertheless, we need to prepare for better raw material availability so that we can fulfill customer orders as quickly as possible. This is why we are working tirelessly to expand and optimize our entire company – from administration and development through to production.”
Continued growth in number of employees
In the past financial year, Beckhoff hired more than 500 new employees worldwide. This means that, as of March 2022, the family company now employs 5,000 employees (previous year 4,500): 3,400 of them in Verl and the surrounding area, 3,850 in Germany as a whole and 1,450 abroad. “Having the expertise we need in-house is a major success factor for us. Beckhoff manufactures sophisticated high-tech products that are developed by a real hive of the brightest minds working together within our company,” notes Hans Beckhoff, explaining the comparatively high number of currently 1,900 engineers among his employees. He goes on to add: “At Beckhoff, we say: Engineers must save the world! It is our task to develop products and automate production processes in such a way that they consume fewer raw materials and less energy than in the past. Every year, effectiveness and productivity must be increased to meet the worldwide desire for more prosperity in an ecologically sustainable way.”