Metrology business revenue was £467 million, up from £326.6 million. The Far East business doubled to £249.9 million. Operating profit also doubled to £150.7 million.
In its annual report, the company says that its ability to quickly respond to demand made a big difference in winning the orders. "Recent strategic manufacturing investment decisions have enabled Renishaw to manufacture sufficient products in-house to satisfy order growth and to react to the large changes in demand on very short lead-times. We have done this by accelerating additional capacity, including the refurbishment of Miskin, where we now have 50% occupancy."
The company now has factories in the UK, France, Germany, Ireland, India and the USA. In its last financial year, it also extended or relocated premises in the UK (its new innovation centre), Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Ireland, Spain and Slovenia. In particular, in Hong Kong it relocated to a new 26,000 sq ft property to accommodate growth in the Far East region. Larger offices are also planned for the USA, Czech Republic and Mexico.
In additive manufacturing, Renishaw entered into an agreement with Dentsply Implants that will see it purchase Renishaw additive manufacturing technology for making dental products. Also, in other news, Renishaw recently acquired a 20% shareholding in HiETA Technologies, a UK company specialising in the design and delivery of additive manufacturing products, such as heat exchangers.
It has also launched a pay-as-you-go service for automated toolsetting, responding to customer concerns about the cost, ease of use and durability of probes. The twin probe system comprises the Primo Radio Part Setter, Primo Radio 3D Tool Setter and Primo Interface. Users buy six-month credit tokens which enable unlimited use of the Primo machine tool probe system during that period. An upgrade credit token is also available to provide unrestricted continuous use. Registration of a token activates Primo Total Protect, which provides cover against accidental probe damage.
