TroGroup in the financial year 2021: Trodat and Trotec with record turnover in 110-year company history
- Turnover of € 289 million for the first time
- Both divisions – stamp and laser – grew strongly in the second year of the coronavirus crisis
- Expansion of production in China and completion of the Walter Just Technical Centre at the headquarters in Wels (Upper Austria)
- Successful family business for 110 years
Wels, 11 May 2022. TroGroup (Trodat, Trotec) continued its growth course in the financial year 2021. Founded in 1912 as a small shop selling stamps in Vienna, the family business based in Upper Austria has developed into a global player in the stamp and laser business, with 44 operating subsidiaries in 150 countries. In the financial year 2021, TroGroup employed more than 1,900 people and achieved a turnover of € 289 million, the highest in its corporate history.
"In 2022, our group of companies turned 110 - Trodat celebrated its 110th anniversary and Trotec can proudly look back on 25 successful business years. A consistent expansion strategy, continuous enhancement of our innovative power and the development of our products in different business fields have always contributed significantly to the success of Trodat and Trotec. The fact that we were able to enter our anniversary year with a record turnover is especially pleasing," says Norbert Schrüfer, CEO of the TroGroup. In the financial year 2021, TroGroup increased its total turnover by more than 17% compared to the previous year, to € 289 million (FY 2020: € 246 million) and by 7% compared to the pre- crisis year 2019 (FY 2019: € 270 million). Investments, which amounted to more than € 15 million, were once more financed from cash flow. In spite of the challenging operating environment, record sales were achieved in both the stamp (€ 135 million) and laser (€ 154 million) divisions.
"The year 2021 was characterised by a difficult and unpredictable macroeconomic environment, with high commodity prices, difficult availability of raw materials and capacity bottlenecks in freight space. Our heartfelt thanks go to our employees for their tireless efforts in challenging times," says Peter Köstler, TroGroup CFO. As of 31 December 2021, a total of 1,963 employees worked for TroGroup in 44 operating subsidiaries in 150 countries around the world (FY 2020: 1,868), of which 587 were in Austria (FY 2020: 580).
Trotec: Technology leader in fast-growing markets
With record sales of € 154 million, Trotec broke the € 150 million turnover mark for the first time in the financial year 2021. When it comes to realising the Trotec vision "Home of all Laser Users", digitisation is a key driver. With the launch of a new website as well as a new webshop for Austria and Germany, which is to due to be rolled out worldwide by the end of this year, Trotec will offer its customers an even better user experience and continuously sets the standards for the industry. With its own operating system software "Ruby", which in the case of the flagship product "Speedy400" is now even linked to a new type of camera system for automatic recognition of the object position, Trotec ensures both easier operation and faster workflows. In order to be able to serve the future market Asia even better, a new sales and service branch was founded in Singapore, which acts as a central hub for customers across the entire Asian region.
Trodat: Expanding our global market leadership
In 2021, Trodat was once again able to gain market share in almost all countries and to significantly expand its global market leadership in self-inking stamps. The ongoing development of the product portfolio and continuous optimisation of the sales and logistics processes contribute significantly to its growth. With the largest construction project in Trodat's history to date, an extension to the Chinese plant in Xiamen, the course was set in 2021 for the continued successful development of the Asian growth market. With an investment of around € 6 million, the existing production area was doubled in size using state-of-the-art technology in resource and environmentally friendly construction. Completion was scheduled for June 2022.
The Walter Just Technical Centre is a firm commitment to Upper Austria as business location After the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of an additional production building at Trodat’s headquarters in Wels in June 2021, the scheduled opening of the building, which is named after the company founder, will take place in September 2022. The Walter Just Technical Centre has an area of 2,000 m2 and will be the new home of toolmaking and equipment design as well as housing the new training centre and workshop for apprentices. Around € 4 million were invested in the building, which was constructed according to the latest sustainable construction standards and equipped with adiabatic cooling, a green roof and a PV system. In the future, there will be a renewed focus on insourcing high-quality development and production processes from the DACH region for the manufacture of injection moulds, in order to increase local added value. The current number of apprenticeships will be doubled from 15 to 30. Norbert Schrüfer, CEO of TroGroup says that "with the investment in the Walter Just Technical Centre, we are making a firm commitment to the future of the Wels site. I am particularly pleased that the new training workshop will enable us to offer apprenticeships to twice as many young people as previously.”
Outlook 2022
Despite a good start into 2022, assessments of future developments are characterised by a high degree of uncertainty, especially due to the conflict in Ukraine and COVID-19-related lockdowns (currently occurring in China). Tight supply chains and limited parts availability continue to be challenging and the same goes for energy, transport and production materials cost increases. "The start into our anniversary year 2022 has been an operational success. The order situation is very good and secure for the coming months. However, TroGroup’s further business development depends to a large extent on general economic developments. That said, I am confident that our excellent teams around the world will rise to the current challenges," says CEO Norbert Schrüfer.
"As a family business, TroGroup attaches particular importance to the long-term orientation of the company. In all our undertakings, it is always our goal to secure and maintain our autonomy and independence", says CFO Peter Köstler. Schrüfer adds that "with this in mind, we want the coming decades to continue to be a success story for TroGroup."
