Machine builder

Engel: Declining sales and a melting order buffer

Individual automation solutions are experiencing a significant upswing, says Engel CEO Stefan Engleder.(Bild: ENGEL, Krone KREATIV)

The market for injection molding machines declined last year - "we managed to gain market share," says Stefan Engleder, CEO of machine manufacturer Engel from Schwertberg. Nevertheless, the family-run company from Upper Austria also suffered a dip in turnover. This fell to 1.6 billion euros in 2023/24.

Leasing and permanent staff are being cut, with 35 jobs affected at the Engel large-scale machine plant in St. Valentin - this announcement was made at the end of January 2024 and already showed that the mechanical engineering company from Upper Austria is also struggling.

Engel has succeeded in gaining market share in a shrinking market - a development that we have also seen in previous crises.

Engel-Chef Stefan Engleder

"Parts of our Austrian plants are underutilized," we were told at the time. The reduction of vacation and time-off accounts as well as a part-time model were also used to cope with the difficult situation. Most recently, six jobs were cut in Dietach in March, while the main plant in Schwertberg has so far been spared staff cuts.

Getting off lightly so far
"The high order levels have let us get off lightly so far. These have now almost been processed," says CEO Stefan Engleder, who reveals: "Despite one or two better weeks in terms of incoming orders, we are not yet seeing a sustainable economic recovery."

Nine production plants
The company is sticking to its growth strategy for the new 2024/25 financial year. The company plans to invest a high double-digit million amount in the expansion of its global network. Engel has a total of nine production plants in Europe, North America, China and Korea. In Austria, machines are built in Schwertberg, Dietach and St. Valentin.