Gildemeister AG celebrates the good times

Business is continuing to improve for the group, whose sales organisation is DMG, and combined with its expectations from the EMO 2007 exhibition in Hanover during September, when 68 machine tools will be exhibited of which 12 will make their world premieres, order intake is predicted to be brisk. In the first half of 2007, order intake exceeded expectations with a growth of 21 per cent reaching €857 million (£612.7 million) with associated profitability increasing from €6.3 million (£4.5 million) to €16.7 million (£11.9 million) based on increased demand from the home market, Europe and Asia. At the end of the six month trading period to 30 June 2007, Gildemeister increased its workforce by 72 to 5,719 people of whom 163 are now trainees. Altogether 59 per cent are employed within the domestic operations of the company. Eastern Europe is predicted to be important for future expansion, and following the acquisition on 1 July of robotic automation allied to machine tools specialist WKZ Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH, the group will be providing in-house production automation equipment as a fully integrated package with its machine tool supply. The newly acquired company is to be renamed DMG Automation.