EoW November 2013

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Feature
Materials, machinery & welding
GKD – Gebr Kufferath AG has staunchly
held its ground in a somewhat subdued
procurement market. In the past financial
year, this leading producer of woven
mesh solutions made of metal and other
materials generated consolidated sales of
€69.2 million.
Allowing for one-off effects in the
previous year, GKD has succeeded in
maintaining sales at a stable high for
the third year in a row. At the same time,
the medium-sized non-listed corporation
invested a total of €8.6m in new tech-
nologies, processes and production
facilities.
A further €1.6m went toward upgrading
the parent plant in Düren, Germany,
and €1m toward consolidating new
companies.
These were important steps taken
by GKD to strengthen its market position.
Its three business units – Solid Weave
(industrial mesh), Weave in Motion
(process belt mesh) and Creative Weave
(architectural mesh) – all contributed
equally to the positive result.
GKD employs 645 members of staff,
422 of them in Germany. With 22
apprentices and trainees, the company
also continues to uphold its proven,
long-term personnel policy. GKD also
succeeded in once again increasing its
sales in the European home market.
Nevertheless, it was the production plants
in the USA and South Africa that delivered
by far the greatest contribution to group
results.
In response to the strong demand, the
Maryland location in North America got
a new production hall for the business
units Solid Weave and Weave in Motion.
Creative Weave also increased its
production capacity in the USA through
the further addition of a technical loom.
Thanks to specific investments in five
growth regions, in the year under
report GKD successfully created the
preconditions for an increasing local share
of value added.
Apart from the two new subsidiaries
in India and Latin America, these
investments also included moving
the Chinese production facility into
substantially larger premises, and
consolidating the factories in France and
Spain to strengthen the company’s setup
in Europe.
GKD also invested in comprehensive
modernisation and expansion of produc-
tion at the parent works in Düren in order
to optimise production layout and further
increase the high production capacities
that already exist there.
“In spite of the slowdown in the global
economy, we have managed to maintain
and further consolidate our leading
market position,” said GKD Director
Dr Stephan Kufferath, summarising his
company’s development in the past
financial year.
With the second highest volume of
investment in its company history, this
German SME continued to apply its
proven strategy for success.
In spite of recessionary trends in Europe
and a global economic slowdown, the
company worked with key suppliers to
develop new technologies, procedures
and products.
In the Solid Weave business unit, for
example, four technical looms specially
developed for GKD created the basis for
meeting anticipated high demand for the
new products.
“Our strategy of investing in machinery
before the orders are there to utilise
the capacity has always been our way
of securing our competitive edge and
market position,” added Ingo Kufferath,
GKD director responsible for the new
production concept.
The extensive investment programme
of the past financial year was completed
in the first quarter of 2013. “The key
feature is that we haven’t invested in
replacements but in new technologies
and optimised production processes for
all our business units,” graduate engineer
Ingo Kufferath stressed.
It is for this reason that his brother, holder
of a PhD in economics, permits himself
cautious optimism in his expectations
of the current business year, in spite
of continuing worldwide economic
uncertainty.
“In 2013 we expect moderate growth
in all business units,” added Stephan
Kufferath, spelling out their planning.
“Thanks to systematic, customer-focused
expansion of our global presence and
ground-breaking new technologies for
the main key industries, we see ourselves
in an excellent position to meet the
challenges that lie ahead.”
GKD – Gebr Kufferath AG – Germany
Website:
Sales of €69m
▲ ▲ The new composite mesh CMP-Alu 6010 by GKD –
Creative Weave ensures pleasant acoustics in this
conference room in Stuttgart, Germany
November 2013 39