“Is 2025 looking up?”
Rainer Wegener on challenges in the industry, the market situation and future prospects.
After a record year in 2023 with significant sales growth, 2024 was extremely challenging for us. However, despite the tense situation on the global markets, our innovative solutions and proven manpower make us well-prepared for an upturn. After all, we supply the right products, in particular for a growing automation and robotics sector. What does the market currently look like? And when will things start to pick up again? Our CEO Rainer Wegener knows more.
Mr. Wegener, what is your assessment of the current market situation?
Rainer Wegener: In Europe, especially in Germany, the economic situation is making business very difficult. However, this is an industry-wide phenomenon. We at STOBER expect a decline of up to 15 percent. However, we had set the bar very high in the record year 2023 with a significant sales growth of 20 percent. Still, many customers are unsettled by the geopolitical situation and the tense global market. In contrast, business in the US is stable, and we are even seeing growth in the UK.
How is the crisis affecting your employees?
Rainer Wegener: We will get through this time together. That is why we will not be letting go of any of our employees due to the economic situation. After all, we want to be prepared when the economy picks up again. For the automation and robotics sector, experts expect average growth of 6.6 percent by 2030. More and more companies are bringing their production back to Europe or the US from Asia. To work profitably, they need automation. We will be part of it, since we supply the perfect products for this industry. This puts us in a good position for the medium and long term.
When do you expect the upturn?
Rainer Wegener: That’s an exciting question. We are working with a market research institute. What we are seeing right now is that the upturn is being pushed further and further back. It will probably not be as strong as was predicted a year ago. However, experts believe that we have now reached the low point and that the upturn will begin slowly in the second half of 2025 and should continue in 2026.
How do global economic challenges or geopolitical tensions influence your strategy?
Rainer Wegener: We have two views. Looking west, we are relatively calm. We have a large and well-positioned location in the US, from which we can support our local customers with our own production facilities. The feared tariffs under Trump would therefore not hit us particularly hard. I like to talk about “Trump 1” and “Trump 2”. The first period was all about “America first,” with the aim of bringing industry back to the USA. Now it’s about driving this reindustrialization forward. We are well-positioned in America and are supplying system and machine manufacturers there. Since the United States does not want to buy from China under any circumstances, European and especially German manufacturers will be in demand.
In the East, specifically in China, things look different. I see fewer positive signs there. The market is barely growing, while massive competition is emerging in the country at the same time. Chinese companies are also producing more goods than there is demand for, which is putting pressure on prices. Their products are flooding the European market, increasing competitive pressure here too. This is a challenge we must face.
How have the market and customer requirements changed this year?
Rainer Wegener: Technological demands are increasing. In order to set themselves apart from their Asian competitors, many machine manufacturers are moving into the high-end sector. At the same time, we see a rapidly growing market in Asia, including outside of China. Just like the US, these countries also want foreign companies to sell at lower prices, and ideally also have production there. This includes India in particular. The balancing act will be a challenge for German industry.
What difficulties do you anticipate for 2025? What is in store for you?
Rainer Wegener: We have to be able to handle the upturn expected in the second half of the year. We are currently bulking up our inventory. This is also a balancing act because it ties up capital. At the same time, we expect to generate low sales numbers in the first half of the year, as incoming orders will pick up slowly. The focus for 2025 will remain on the continued development of the product portfolio.
What trend will shape the coming years?
Rainer Wegener: One trend is security, as part of the European Union’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), which aims to significantly improve the cyber security of products that are connected to each other or the Internet. The CRA obliges manufacturers to disclose, reduce or eliminate vulnerabilities. They must also undertake to close security gaps throughout the entire product life cycle.
We are optimistic about the future. We just have to find the right balance between stepping on the gas in our current situation and slowing down when necessary. Then we will get through the coming months just fine.
Caption:
Photo credits: STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG
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Contact data for country-specific publication:
| Germany: | Austria: |
| STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG Kieselbronner Str. 12 75177 Pforzheim Phone: +49 7231 582-0 sales@stoeber.de www.stoeber.cn/en/ | STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH Hauptstraße 41a 4663 Laakirchen Phone: +43 7613 7600-0 sales@stoeber.at www.stoeber.at |
Media contact/Market overviews:
STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG
Silvia Feder
Kieselbronner Str. 12, 75177 Pforzheim, Germany
Phone: +49 7231 582-1660
silvia.feder@stoeber.de
www.stoeber.cn/en/
Media:
STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG
Solveig Moll
Kieselbronner Str. 12, 75177 Pforzheim, Germany
Phone: +49 7231 582-1183
solveig.moll@stoeber.de
www.stoeber.cn/en/
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