Josef Minster, CEO of the Schlemmer Group, highlighted that these figures surpass the annual planning for 2014 by 18 percent, but also pointed to some very positive prevailing circumstances: "Firstly, in 2014 we worked on a range of very profitable new projects. Secondly, as a plastics processing company we are of course benefiting greatly from the current, very low prices for oil, which is used as a raw material for many of our products. Naturally, this will not continue indefinitely as the time will come when the oil price trend reverses again - this may even happen very soon."
In 2014 the Schlemmer Group, whose global presence includes 21 plants and a mobile factory, enjoyed booming markets in Asia, Eastern Europe and North Africa in particular. However, in future Schlemmer intends to intensively expand in the Americas region (North America, South America, Mexico), where the company has been active since 2010. "We are planning major plant expansions for the coming years as well as new plants, particularly in North America and Mexico, in order to significantly increase our market share in these areas," says CEO Josef Minster.
All things considered, Schlemmer's management is delighted with the current performance, which forms part of a roadmap (ONE SPIRIT 2020) that was adopted last year. Nevertheless, plans for the future remain ambitious and growth-oriented - the core goals that the company wants to fulfil by 2020 are to achieve a yearly revenue of € 400 million, increase employee numbers to around 3,000 worldwide as well as triple investment in research and development. Further company acquisitions and opening new sites abroad will help to further strengthen the technological leadership and market presence of the Schlemmer Group.
"We have every reason to look to the future full of confidence," comments Josef Minster. "We have already surpassed our set targets in the first quarter of 2015. We are currently negotiating several very large projects with annual volumes of up to € 25 million and a duration of up to 15 years. These requests are the result of increasing awareness of our company's distinct global footprint in various sectors. This is the reward for over 10 years of hard work on the Schlemmer Group's globalisation strategy."
The Schlemmer Group's employees are benefiting directly from the company's success this year, too. As the company's annual targets were achieved in full in 2014 as well, employees receive a percentage of their annual salary as a performance bonus in addition to their regular salaries. In addition, they also receive a performance-based lump-sum payment, which is based on ten percent of the figure that was generated above the annual planning for the fiscal year 2014 and is distributed and paid out among the employees on a proportional basis. "Of course, these results were only possible thanks to the highly motivated and committed team. The management team would like to express its sincere gratitude for this dedication once again this year," adds Josef Minster.