Promising order intake at EMCO
The new business year started with a high order backlog. In 2022, machine tool manufacturer EMCO will celebrate its 75th anniversary.
Posted: May 27, 2022
2021/22 was a very challenging financial year marked by Corona, supply chain issues and short-time work. Notwithstanding these difficulties, EMCO could close the financial year from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 with a 24-percent increase in sales, thus recovering the sales level of 2019. We were able to keep our staff in Hallein and are currently looking for new employees to complete our teams in different departments, including Service, Internal Sales, IT etc. From the autumn of 2022, we will also expand our trainee teams, especially those in the area of industrial vocations. Apart from that, we will offer three additional apprenticeships (engineering or mechatronics) for Ukrainian refugees.
In September 2021, EMCO opened a new Technology Centre in Belforte Monferrato. Acting as an impulse generator for the positive business development and brand identity in Italy, the Centre has a representative cross-section of EMCO’s product range on display for anyone who is interested.
EMCO caters for customers from industries which are as versatile as the company’s range of products. Traditional small and medium-sized companies have been an integral part of EMCO’s customer base for many years. Thanks to technologically innovative solutions, high flexibility and customer orientation, EMCO has succeeded in recent years in winning the confidence of large international companies, too. Automation solutions and the digitisation of processes have been, and continue to be, key topics in the decision processes. Notwithstanding the difficult framework conditions, the opportunities and chances offered by these business areas allow EMCO to remain very optimistic about the further course of the anniversary year. Dr. Ing. Stefan Hansch, managing director of EMCO, believes that the focus on the factors over which EMCO has control is, among other things, of the essence in this situation. ‘We focus entirely on those aspects that we, as a team, can shape and influence in such a way that they will have a positive effect for our customers, regardless of whether this happens in the area of development, production or service. And, last but not least, it is the excellent order intake of the past months – which seems to be stabilising – that gives us cause for optimism.’
In March 2022, it was possible to complete an investment that is essential for the development of the milling machine segment: The property adjacent to EMCO’s CNC milling machine production site in Pordenone, one of EMCO’s 5 European production plants, was acquired along with a hall for production expansion purposes. Thus, EMCO has an additional 2235m2 of production space and 270m2 of office space at its disposal for the upcoming expansion of the UMILL and MMV series.
Sustainability-related investments are already being implemented at the headquarters in Hallein: a complete roof refurbishment and the installation of a 7900-square-metre photovoltaic system with an output of 400 kWp.
The perspectives for the further course of the current business year are difficult to estimate from today’s view, as they are now massively affected by the political and economical consequences of the war in Ukraine. Apart from the immense suffering of the people in the war zone and on the escape routes, there is no time perspective for a solution of the conflict. The current political developments in Ukraine have prompted us to cease both our operative and productive business activities in Russia. EMCO withdraws from the Russian market, pending the completion of those machines which are currently being constructed, yet to be delivered and not subject to any sanctions.
We expect that, in addition to the direct consequences of the war and the sanctions, there will also be indirect consequences, such as increases in the costs due to higher energy prices or procurement costs, and further disruptions in the supply chains.
At this moment, it is impossible to hold a carefree anniversary celebration. Taking into account, however, that we are looking back on 75 years of history, we have good reason to be proud of our achievements. EMCO’s managing director, Dr. Stefan Hansch, believes that it is, above all, the wealth of experience that constitutes the foundation for further innovations. ‘Our sites offer comprehensive know-how in the area of turning, milling and training machines. We have succeeded in bundling this knowledge and putting it into practice in the form of turnkey solutions for our customers.’
