In the year one after the beginning of the economic crisis, the plant manufacturer from the Black Forest wishes to “rise” again: Robert Bürkle GmbH plans to grow as regards the turnover and also as regards the development of new business sectors. This is possible because the press and lamination experts kept their number of employees constant in the year 2009.

The manager Hans-Joachim Bender looks into the future with more optimism again. After a record sales of €115 million in 2008, Bürkle had to face a decrease of the turnover of more than one-third last year.

For many plant manufacturers this would have been the end. But not for Bürkle. The group of companies with works in Paderborn, Shanghai and Hangzhou as well as with sales and service companies in the USA, Hong Kong, Poland, Slovakia, Taiwan and Brazil plans to grow by 30% in 2010.

The plant manufacturer especially counts on the photovoltaics sector established two years before. Being a pioneer in the development and manufacture of multi-opening laminators, Bürkle has reached the top point among the manufacturers of the solar market with their brand Ypsator. All in all, companies such as Solarwatt, Q-Cells, Day4Energy, Scheuten Solar and others ordered around 50 single and multi-opening laminators in the last 2 years. Bürkle prevailed against international competitors with the Bosch Solar Energy project for supplying machines at a status of a preferred supplier.

Moreover Bürkle was able to develop a new business sector besides the woodworking, photovoltaic, PCB and plastic card industry which is currently not mentioned due to competition reasons. For doing so, Bürkle adapts technologies from the woodworking sector proven for many years.

Bürkle deliberately mentions another new business sector: The Karlsruhe subsidiary Fiber Engineering GmbH received their first order for a plant for manufacturing fiber moldings for the automotive industry from the USA. With this plant you can produce extremely light, recyclable and three-dimensional fiber moldings for automotive interiors with an environmental-friendly and novel injection procedure. Clark-Cutler-McDermott from Boston ordered the machine for supplying around 100.000 fiber moldings to Volkswagen America in the first year.

All in all, the managing partner Bender counts on making business especially in Europe, in the USA and in China this year. The turnover shall be harvested to one-third each in the photovoltaic and in the woodworking industry. The rest will be implemented in the sectors credit cards and PCB industry as well as with service and assembly activities.

Last year the plant manufacturer invested around €5 million for tool machines, computer systems and office equipment. This year they will invest again €1 million only for information technology. Further investments are currently talked over. The production facility in Shanghai will be extended from an assembly surface of 4500 m² to 7500 m². Currently 488 staff members work in the head office in Freudenstadt as well as in the branch in Mastholte. Bürkle employs 680 staff members worldwide.