Smart Molding International 2-2022

6 newsfeed smart_molding international 2/2022 At the K-Preview press conference, Gerd Liebig, CEO of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, hailed the 2021 financial year as the Group’s most successful to-date. Group sales reached a new all-time high of 808 million euros, increasing by 17.4 percent compared to the previous year (2020: 688 million euros). "This strong sales growth can be wholly attributed to our all-electric machines, where market share continues to rise," he as- serted. The company is now officially the global market leader in all-electric injection moulding machines. Focusing specifically on the results for Germany and Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery GmbH, Schwaig, which comprises production sites in Germany and China, Liebig also reported unprecedented turnover fig- ures. For the first time surpassing the 300 million mark and exceeding the pre-corona level with 302.3 million euros. "We also achieved the best re- sults in terms of profit and customer satisfaction," states the CEO. Putting this into context, sales per employee climbed to the second highest point in the past five years. The company cur- rently employs 1,100 people. Order intake also reached a record high of 322.9 million euros. Profitability in 2021 was in the double-digit range and only slightly below the previous 2018 record. "This stable profit is all the more remarkable given the extreme eco- nomic adversities caused by material price increases," Liebig summed up. He remains optimistic that the 2022 results will be just as good, despite a challenging first quarter. Further milestones accomplished included a drastic 20 percent reduction in qual- ity costs and a significant increase in customer satisfaction, reaching the second highest level in the last five years, he exclaims. An overriding factor in the com- pany’s success is the rapid and rising proportion of all-electric machine investments, especially in Europe. "Already accounting for 33 percent in 2021, we are anticipating 40 per- cent in 2022," claims Mr. Liebig, who remains resolute to continue on the path adopted by his company. “We took a prudent decision to only pro- duce all-electric machines at our plant in Wiehe. These robust results are indicative that it was the right one. Extensive investment in the two German locations will further strengthen the firm’s responsiveness and R&D. Considerable resources are being re-invested in Schwaig to im- prove mechanical production and assembly. In Wiehe, the focus is on reducing throughput times, optimis- ing cycle processes in final assembly and functional testing, and digitalisa- tion projects.” Providing his industry outlook, Lie- big summarised three factors likely to significantly impact sales-orientated industries: sustainability, corona and the war in Ukraine. His assessment flags several mutually disruptive forc- es, including escalating energy and material prices, high inflation and massively disrupted supply chains. The effects on each market will vary hugely. While Packaging, Electronic and Medical will remain stable in 2022, the expectations in Automotive are more modest due to longer delivery times. Consumer is also uncertain due to the erosion of spending power. "Longer term, these sectors will recover and increase strongly,” predicts the CEO. He believes that the automotive sec- tor will overcome the economic and structural crisis and will rise sharply from 2024, while the high savings rate and the trend towards all-electric ma- chines as a result of spiralling energy prices would lead to significant growth in consumer goods. Expanding further, Liebig referenced the five influential andmutually depen- dent future market trends. In addition to the significant increase in the automotive and consumer sec- tors, high demand for all-electric injec- tion moulding machines links back to the sustainability and circular econo- my agenda, which connects back to the new EU Digital Product Passports (DPP). As part of the Sustainable Prod- ucts Initiative, the DPP challenges that sustainability is no longer confined to machine or products it manufactures. “It now questions how sustainably the machine is manufactured in-house,” announced the CEO. Facing up to these challenges, Lie- big shared how the company plans to improve sustainability throughout the entire product life cycle. He expands: “Critical material availability looks set to remain problematic for some time to come. Here, we’ll use multi sourcing concepts to develop alternative mate- rial flows in order to achieve maximum on-time delivery through optimised availability.” Sumitomo (SHI) Demag www.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu Highest turnover in the company’s history K-Preview press conference (all photos: Sumitomo (SHI) Demag) Gerd Liebig, Chairman of the Management Board and Group CEO of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery, global market leader in all-electric injection moulding machines