Machinery manufacturer Arburg (Loßburg / Germany; www.arburg.com) grew sales in 2007 by over 10% to more than EUR 400m, according to preliminary figures. At a press conference in Loßburg to mark the company’s 10th "Technology Days", CEO Michael Hehl said the figures confirm the company’s high expectations. He attributed the improvement above all to an increase in market share. While the family-owned firm traditionally does not publish earnings figures, Hehl described results as “satisfactory.”

Germany, accounting for 49% of incoming orders, is still the strongest market, but the highest growth rates in Europe are being recorded in the eastern part of the continent. Arburg is doing especially brisk business in the Czech Republic and Poland. Although western Europe cannot match these growth rates, management is well satisfied with the performance here. In Asia, the company managed to win a number of large orders in 2007, although business in the region is still difficult, mainly because of the competitive situation. Japan’s exports, for example, are being boosted by the favourable dollar/yen parity. Arburg succeeded in slightly increasing its share of the US market, which on the whole is shrinking.

In 2007, the German machinery manufacturer invested around EUR 10m in tangible capital assets, not including the double-digit euro cost of the new customer centre that will be completed in autumn 2008 and dedicated in spring 2009. Arburg is cautiously optimistic for 2008, as Hehl said business is cooling somewhat against outstanding years of 2006 and 2007.