Balluff: Continuing on a Growth Course

Strong basis for further growth: With a high order backlog and positive development in its three global regions, Balluff, the sensor and automation specialist, has closed the 2022 financial year – and once again recorded increased sales figures. “We are very pleased to have achieved another record result after 2021, despite some challenges,” says Managing Director Katrin Stegmaier-Hermle. “We are proud of this milestone in our company history and thank all our employees for their high level of commitment.” Across all three regions – Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific – sales increased 13 percent to €567 million from €504 million in the previous year. As of Dec. 31, 2022, Balluff employed 3703 people at 38 locations worldwide, four percent more than in 2021.

Strengthening the Global Network

“Balluff continues to be consistently on course for growth. By expanding our production capacities in our three regions, we are creating the necessary conditions for this,” says Managing Director Frank Nonnenmann. “We are strengthening our global network of production and development sites and logistics.” For example:

• Balluff is investing around 50 million euros in the construction of a new production facility in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The smart factory is scheduled to be in operation starting this fall.
• The high-volume plant in Chengdu, China, is also being expanded. Production levels are rising.

“The regionalization of our supply chains to three major world regions is in full swing,” adds Nonnenmann. “By doing so, we are enabling stable global supply chains and shortened delivery times, thus also driving the issue of sustainability further forward.”

Innovation and Competence Center in Neuhausen

Balluff continues to systematically expand its headquarters in Neuhausen into an innovation and competence center. In addition to the renovation of the existing building, the new administration and development building, with around 500 modern workstations, is on schedule to open in 2024. A new logistics center for the EMEA region is also planned for 2026.

19 Mar 2024 - Double Interview at Balluff on Research Activities

“We are very pleased that the municipality of Neuhausen is open to our construction project and that we can continue the planning phase,” says Stegmaier-Hermle. The construction is a further commitment to the Neuhausen location. “As a family-owned company and the largest employer in Neuhausen, we are investing in our company headquarters in order to continue to offer attractive jobs in the future-oriented industry of automation,” she adds.

Focus on Diversification

For 2023, the company plans to further diversify its customer base. The focus is on the food and packaging industries, as well as alternative drives and battery production for e-mobility in the automotive sector. In addition to the production of standard components for industrial automation, the company is also increasingly its focus on the development of customer-specific solutions for sensor and camera technology. Thanks to its expertise in machine vision, combined with deep industry know-how, Balluff has positioned itself as a technology supplier for leading suppliers in the semiconductor industry and in the life sciences sector.

Innovative Products

Balluff continues to use its Strategic Incubation Programs (SIPs) to develop new business ideas. Comparable to a start-up, SIPs drive innovations within the company, focusing on speed and consistent customer orientation. The resulting solutions, such as the Smart Reordering System for dynamic inventory management and the Condition Monitoring Toolkit (CMTK) for condition monitoring of machines, systems and processes, are now in use by numerous customers.

Balluff sees growth opportunities for products in the field of image processing – especially if they have interfaces that combine classic automation technology with information technology. “Our new BVS IdentSensor is a fitting example of this,” says Managing Director Florian Hermle. “With additional functions for smart condition monitoring, it expands classic data transmission. We are relying here for the first time on MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) as an interface. The integrated open network protocol for IoT communication enables automatic and simple data exchange between sensor and server making it easier for customers to gain insight into the current status of the entire plant.”

Positive View of the Future

While the entire automation industry suffered from the worldwide shortage of electronic components last year, Balluff is now looking at a significant easing of the market situation – and of its ability to deliver: The number of critical components was continuously reduced to a minimum over the course of the past year, thanks to the great efforts of an international project team. In the meantime, most products are once again available from stock. Order intake at the end of the past fiscal year was eight percent higher than in December 2021. Despite continuing challenging conditions, Balluff is looking positively to the future. 

As one of the company's 2023 goals, sustainability is firmly anchored in Balluff’s daily work. “We are already thinking and acting today for tomorrow,” says Stegmaier-Hermle. “In addition to climate protection, the areas of economy and social issues also count for us here.” A central coordination office is to make the measures that have already been initiated transparent and monitor new measures in a structured manner.