Höxter, 05 September 2018. With 272 million euros, the Arntz Optibelt Group significantly increased its sales revenues in 2017 by +12.5% compared to the previous year and achieved a new sales record. The manufacturer of high-performance drive belts expects further growth will continue in the current fiscal year.
"The first seven months of the current year have also been very successful for us. Our turnover amounted to 172 million euros, approximately five percent higher than in the same period last year. For 2018 as a whole, we therefore expect a similar increase over the previous year", Reinhold Mühlbeyer, Chairman of the Management Board, comments on the Group's development. "Production capacities were increased and adapted to increased demand. However, securing the supply chain across all stages of production is a major challenge. This is accompanied by disproportionately high cost increases in all areas." At the same time, the company continues to invest in the expansion of sales with an office in Morocco (Casablanca) and with an investment of millions in the sales and logistics of its subsidiary Tecnamic.
New sales office in Morocco
To further expand sales activities in French-speaking Africa, a company was founded with a sales office in Morocco. The aim is to intensify close contact with customers and further expand local consulting expertise.
Training offensive as a success factor for the future
The demand for qualified employees remains high and these are also necessary for the expansion of the Group's worldwide business activities. For this reason, additional jobs and training opportunities were created as part of a training offensive. In addition to the existing apprenticeship occupations in production and sales as well as the industrial engineering and production technology dual study courses, which have again been significantly increased in number, dual study places are now also being offered in the fields of business informatics and supply chain management. New additional apprenticeship courses such as electronic technician for industrial engineering and business management assistant in the e-commerce sector supplement the traditional apprenticeships for industrial business management assistants, specialist warehouse clerks, IT specialists and process mechanics. In addition, a new SAP/ERP apprenticeship and trainee programme was developed.
