In the gear technology and automation systems product segment, Liebherr recorded revenue of €308 million in the 2024 business year. This represents an increase of €28 million or 10.0 % year-on-year.

According to the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association (VDW), there was a significant downward trend in the machine tool industry. Throughout the industry, business remained relatively stable within Germany, primarily due to one-off and project-driven transactions, yet there was a significant decline in orders from abroad. Contrary to this general trend, Liebherr recorded an increase in revenue across all areas of the gear technology and automation systems product segment.

Encouraging growth was recorded in Germany and France, the most important EU markets for the product segment. On the other hand, business declined in non-EU countries, as well as in Central and South America. In the field of automation systems in particular, the USA was a growth driver in North America, while Canada ensured increased revenue in gear technology. In the Asia and Oceania sales region, the negative trend in the field of automation systems was offset by an increase in revenue in gear technology.

Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH received the ‘Best of Industry Award’ in the field of robotics for its successful development of the automation solution used to disassemble used batteries, including handling aged and contaminated components as well as safely reducing high voltage. A pilot system for automated disassembly has been in use at the Open Hybrid LabFactory (OHLF) research campus in Wolfsburg (Germany) since November 2023. As a member of the OHLF e.V., Liebherr is planning to further develop concepts for flexible and scalable disassembly so that future battery systems can be designed for efficient disassembly and recycling from the outset.

In the gear technology area, the finalisation of the prototypes for gear skiving and slotting marked the completion of a new platform, and both products were released for sale. Furthermore, the LHProcessMonitoring software was developed. This is a digital tool that detects microgeometry deviations in gears at an early stage during production. This helps reduce noise emissions in electric vehicles, lowers costs and minimises rejects. LHProcessMonitoring visualises the production process, determines limit values and enables continuous monitoring. It automatically detects limit value violations and prevents faulty gears from entering the value creation chain. With a user-friendly interface and dynamic envelope analyses, the software improves the quality and traceability of the gears even during production and can be extended with further gear cutting methods in future. The LHEnergyInfo app, which was also included in the product segment’s digital portfolio in 2024, is the solution for efficient consumption monitoring. This application provides an overview of all power and energy consumption data – from current to compressed air or coolant. It is part of the LHWebPlatform, which is already very successfully established on the market.

Despite positive news from demand markets, Liebherr is expecting a fall in revenue in the 2025 business year.