AMF back en route to success

Recovery in 2021 makes AMF confident about a return to a growth course

Since 2021, Andreas Maier GmbH & Co. KG (AMF) has been back on the way to success. Despite some up and down in the monthly rhythm, sales rose by more than ten percent, reaching about 44 million euro.

This was reinforced by demand from existing customers for classic inventory products. Due to stable supply chains with predominantly regional suppliers, AMF was always able to deliver. This recovery was apparent across all sectors and in almost all markets. After a downturn two years ago, this trend prompted the hope of a sustained return to normality. The demand for innovative products for automated manufacturing and process optimisation continued to rise. Thanks to a very good order book position at this time, the market leader for clamping, screwing and closing anticipates being able once again to navigate a successful growth course in 2022. This optimism is underscored by further investment plans at this location.

“Although we are still a long way from the sales revenues we were achieving before the crisis, the recovery in 2021 and the rising trend in the early part of 2022 clearly show that we have left the valley floor and are heading back upwards”, states a confident Johannes Maier, Managing Director of Andreas Maier GmbH & Co. KG in Fellbach. In 2021, this traditional company achieved annual sales of around 44 million euro. This equates to an increase of more than ten percent compared to 2020. “After two years with a number of dramatic downturns in sales revenues, we have hopefully reversed the direction of travel”, states Maier. “Now the aim is to maintain this trend, to return to a growth course while retaining jobs on a long-term basis”. Traditionally, this owner-managed family business does not provide any information about its financial results.

Delivery capability as the most important aid to this trend reversal

Maier considers the most important factor in this trend reversal to be a combination of rising demand from existing customers and, above all, AMF’s ability to deliver. “Wherever possible, we have been committed to regional suppliers. This has protected us against a fair number of supply chain problems”. In addition, customers mostly ordered class products that the folk at Fellbach had in stock. The sharp rises in raw material prices have been causing great concern. At the same time, we have continued to receive orders for AMF’s more recent sectors of chemicals, food, health, communication and the optical industry. Here, the company boss is personally confident of stable growth in future. The increase in sales revenues has also meant that AMF has been able to retain its core workforce right through the crisis.

The recovery also manifested itself equally across all European and the other international markets. Above all, it was possible to halt the rapid downturn in India. Once again in 2021, the USA recorded very stable growth.

Robust demand and a pleasing order book position

With robust demand and a pleasing order book position, the market leader for clamping, screwing and closing is launching itself into 2022. “We are witnessing genuine growth, no catch-up investments and we are once again anticipating stronger demand for our innovative solutions for automation and process optimisation”, states the CEO with emphasis. Over and above that, it would appear that there are real prospects of a return to sustained growth in the mechanical engineering sector. This company seeks to build upon its optimism with further innovations. In 2022, 1.5 million euro are to be invested in the Fellbach site, primarily for software, measurement technology and in-house manufacturing. In this way, AMF seeks to defend its leading position on the world market.