The company presented the results at its International Meeting 2019, which Lantek holds annually with its employees and distributors. The event is where the previous year is assessed, and the guidelines and business objectives that will mark the organisation’s strategy for the next few years are presented.
Last year’s results reflect the consolidation of the company’s international business, which represents 86% of revenue. The markets that progressed best last year were Germany, with 32% growth, followed by China at +30.7% and the US with 11.3% growth. Other countries such as Spain (+10.6%), France and Italy also showed significant growth.
Employing 244 people around the world, in 2018 the company grew by over 30 people, 16% more than the previous fiscal year. This significant increase was mainly due to Lantek’s strong commitment to strengthening leadership and supporting the digital transformation of the sector, as well as its expectation of greater growth in coming years.
With regard to business areas, there was a notable 40% increase in the Digital Transformation (Solutions) division, where the company accompanies its clients on the road to Industry 4.0. In this regard, countries with governmental support for initiatives associated with the fourth industrial revolution are notable. These include, once again, Germany with an increase of 94%, countries like South Korea, Poland and France with growth of 50%, and the US with a gain of 25%.
Overall growth for the business line dedicated to machinery manufacturers was 12%. Co-operation between machinery manufacturers and Lantek consolidated and reinforced the provision of CAM-generated data for use in management systems (MES, quoting, traceability) and analytics.
Newly devised applications offered in the digital realm included Lantek’s launch last year of several systems developed on a cloud storage and data management platform using modern security techniques. The cloud-based Lantek 360 suite incorporates four new solutions into Lantek’s current portfolio of products: Lantek Analytics (data analysis for in-plant decision making); Lantek iQuoting (tool for preparing quotes); Lantek MetalShop (an online metal part shop); and Lantek Control Panel (data viewing and analysis in real time).
Throughout the events held during the International Meeting 2019, Lantek made clear its desire to continue its commitment to innovation. The company’s aim is to deliver solutions to a sector that must revamp and automate its production processes in order to continue being competitive and profitable in a hyper-connected world.
Alongside cloud developments, another example of Lantek’s commitment to innovation is its Technological Excellence Centre in Bilbao, which was inaugurated one year ago to develop digital transformation software projects, supplementing the corporate R&D+i centre at the company’s headquarters in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, the cloud, IoT/IIoT, M2M, machine-to-cloud, big data, connectivity; these are the technologies which have been applied to Lantek’s solutions, allowing users to analyse, extract and interpret data, and enable real-time decisions. Last year, €2.56 million was allocated to R&D+i investment, a figure well above the sector average, and 38% higher than the previous year.
“Innovation is part of our DNA; without it we wouldn’t be what we are today – a multinational company united by a fundamental principle of customer orientation,” says Lantek CEO López de Biñaspre. “This principle affords us the degree of independence and autonomy necessary to ensure that our customers are offered the most appropriate solutions, regardless of the moment in time or the level of business maturity.”
Lantek has double-digit growth expectations for 2019, a complex year given the uncertainties shaking markets and causing deceleration in large global economies.
“Despite that, we expect to continue growing in markets such as Germany, the US and China, while exploring new business opportunities,” concludes Biñaspre. “We are going to continue focusing on improving our customers’ competitiveness, and doing so by anticipating their needs with proposals that allow them to be more efficient and profitable in the digital ecosystem. In addition, we are working on new maintenance, training and consulting policies, as well as new project management processes.”
