Gear Technology and Automation Systems

Total revenues for the Gear Technology and Automation Systems division amounted to € 242 million in 2018, representing a € 6 million or 2,5 % increase year on year.

Development compared to previous year*
Turnover in € m
from 236 		( + 2.5% ) 0
Investments in € m
from 6 		( + 66.7% ) 0
Employees
from 1,500 		( + 6.6% ) 0

Turnover by sales regions

  1. European Union
    42.2%
  2. North America
    21.9%
  3. Central and South America
    1.2%
  4. Non-EU countries
    3.3%
  5. Asia and Oceania
    31.4%
  6. Africa, Near and Middle East
    0.0%

Strong demand in Europe and the Americas

The German machine tools industry grew strongly in the last business year. According to reports by the German Machine Builder’s Association (VDW), there was an increase in orders, particularly from the Americas and Europe, compensating for lower demand in Asia.

In contrast to the industry as a whole, sales declined slightly in Europe due to the very significant decline in the United Kingdom. By contrast, the growth in Germany, Poland and France was very pleasing. In North America, sales increased significantly again this year, while sales in Central and South America declined slightly. In Asia and Oceania as well as in Africa and the Near and Middle East, sales have fallen slightly.

There was little difference in performance among the division’s various product areas. In the gear technologies area, demand rose for skivers and standalone machines, in addition to hobbing, grinding and gearshaping technologies. In the area of automation systems, sales in pallet handling systems grew.

The LMS machine app enables customers to centrally track production progress at each of the machine’s work steps.

Industry 4.0: High points

The division introduced numerous innovations in the past business year. For example, in the gear technology business area, the new LGG 400 M gear-grinding machine combines generating grinding, profile grinding and internal grinding in a single machine to provide the highest degree of flexibility and self-sufficiency. In the area of automation, the division unveiled the LRC 20 robot cells and LPC 3600 palletising cells, which are adaptable machine enhancements for automated production.

In partnership with members of the VDW, the division also introduced the "Connectivity for Industry 4.0" project. Raw data produced by the machines will be collected in cloud systems in the future and optimally analysed. The web-based Liebherr "LMS Machine Info" app transfers machine data into standardised data profiles and processes them into individualised information. This will enable customers to centrally track production progress at each of the machine’s work steps.

The Gear Technology and Automation Systems concentrated their investments in production facilities in 2018. For 2019, the division predicts sales at the previous year’s level.

* Restatement first time adoption of IFRS 9 / 15 / 16.