The company began a strategic realignment two and a half years ago. The company said that the result is attributable to systematic efficiency improvements, higher utilization of production capacity, and improved margins. Furthermore, changing the product mix to include an increasing proportion of new products had a positive impact on the gross margin in the second half.
In reporting year 2014, orders received came to CHF 183.2 million (€151 million), up 20.6% on 2013. The strongest recovery has been in the countries of southern Europe, where a greater willingness to invest is perceptible after two poor years, Tornos says. Order intake rose in northern Europe, too. Order intake in Asia climbed back to a quarter of the total after a large fall in the previous year. China and Taiwan account for the majority of sales in Asia where several large customer projects for multispindle machines could be booked. In the US, Tornos regards 2014 as a transitional year. Although the dealer network was successfully aligned with the future product mix, the fact that the new standard products only came onto the market towards the end of the year meant that this measure has not yet been translated into the desired orders.
In Asia, the second quarter saw the launch of the CT 20 and the Swiss GT 26 as the first two standard products to be manufactured in the Tornos Xi'an and Tornos Taiwan factories respectively, while the last products made by the former alliance partner continued to be delivered until mid-year. In terms of products, this replacement is a turning point in Tornos' history: The portfolio of automatic lathes now consists exclusively of high-end and standard products from the group's own production, which can be sold without geographical limitations.
