ENGEL, one of the world's largest makers of injection molding machines, expects sales in FY 2017 to be about 1.5 billion euros, an increase of 10% over 2016.
Executives posted the figures at a press conference on October 18 at the plastics trade fair in Germany, where they also announced the new ENGEL Composites Systems division.
ENGEL said the requirements of Industry 4.0 and integrated system solutions are the driving forces behind the growth and expansion of its manufacturing facilities.
'What I see is not a big deal; I see 20 new things,' said Christoph Steger, chief strategy officer at ENGEL Group.
By 2020 Engel will invest 375 million euros in its worldwide production facilities, including the expansion of the large San Valentin plant in Austria - the largest construction project to date.
Stefan Engleder, chief executive, expects to invest even more as the expansion continues, 'The industry is in good mood,' he said.
Engleder made a slight reference to the potential growth in ENGEL's machinery prices, but did not give a specific figure on how much the price could have risen.
Europe is the largest market for ENGEL, accounting for 55% of the company's sales in Germany alone increased by 50%.
'Germany remains the biggest driver of the most technologically advanced markets and innovations,' said Steger. 'In addition, German companies are still pushing their global expansion.'
With more than 300 employees in Germany, ENGEL invested about 5 million euros in the location of its interactive technology center in Hanover, the northernmost location in Germany. The center is equipped with large injection molding machines with clamping forces up to approx. 700 metric tons.
The company said Industry 4.0 has become the strongest growth driver in the world. "We have an increasing impact on our customers throughout the injection molding machine lifecycle and production cell," Engleder said.
Engel plans to increase the total number of employees by about 8% and by March the total number of employees worldwide will reach 6,400.
The company said its new composite system unit will be built on the existing lightweight composite center at its plant in St. Valentine.
The center has proven it is appropriate to use fiber-reinforced plastics for new applications and to continually develop new technologies. The new Composites Systems business group will support customers in all countries from the very beginning of the actual final product planning and production. Matthias Mayr is a composite The person in charge of the material system.
Steger said the increased demand for integrated lightweight parts and systems will require that the actual project work be separated from research and development, so that we can ensure continuous strengthening and development of new production processes while continuing to embrace a broad range of technologies. "
The center handles all composite technologies, including high-pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM) and sheet molding compound (SMC), as well as reactive techniques such as in situ polymerization. The center also covers the processing of thermoplastic semifinished products , Such as thermoplastic fabrics and tapes.