Investing in the future
Always keeping the future in focus is intrinsic to Schubert’s corporate philosophy. Over the past two years, the Group has invested 44 million euros – 30 million euros of which was invested in the packaging machinery facility in Crailsheim alone. A significant milestone in 2015 for the Gerhard Schubert GmbH’s growth strategy was the commissioning of its new assembly hall in Crailsheim. With an investment in excess of 16 million euros, the new ‘state of the art’ 12,000-square-metre facility now seamlessly compliments the existing halls with the final assembly of Schubert’s TLM packaging machines.
“We want to support our customers’ success and growth with innovative technologies and, in this way, further continue our growth over the long term. Our objective is to build 1,000 sub-machines annually by the year 2020. To achieve this, we are currently focusing on flawless coordination across all areas – from sales to engineering, purchasing, parts production, assembly through to delivery. There is every indication that we will be achieving our ambitious goal. We are now delighted with the new record order volume,” explains Peter Gabriel, Commercial Director at Schubert. In its growth plan through to 2020, Schubert aims to grow by eight to ten per cent every year. In order to ensure capacities over the long term and to secure opportunities for further growth, Schubert is now targeting the construction of an additional hall in 2020.
Innovative industry firsts in 2016
The interplay of visionary technology and a high-performance team is the key to success at Schubert. With this in mind, Schubert is also investing close to 10 per cent of its sales in research and development in 2016. “The Schubert team is acknowledged worldwide as one of the best in the field,” says Gerald Schubert, Managing Partner responsible for sales and marketing. “This makes us proud and spurs us on to new heights.” A recent development is the TLM packaging machine without an electrical cabinet which achieves best marks in efficiency, availability and ease of use. The first machines of the new generation are already being deployed successfully at one of our customers’ locations. In the summer of 2016, Schubert will begin serial production of the new machine.
In its anniversary year, Schubert is celebrating “50 years towards the future”. To date, and thanks to many innovations, the company has reached the position of world market leader in top-loading packaging machines with robot technology. True to this notion, Schubert will once again be proving its power of innovation this year and presenting new developments in the primary packaging area. “With our innovative technologies, we will be setting new benchmarks in the industry,” says Ralf Schubert, Managing Partner responsible for technology.
Well positioned for further growth
In 2015, Schubert took some decisive steps towards ensuring further growth. These also included the newly established headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. From there, the two sites in the US and Canada are now operating under the Schubert North America name. With the headquarters and the new organisational structure, Schubert can even more effectively support North American customers in this important market. On 1 March, Schubert UK in Birmingham also moved into new and larger offices that provide plenty of room for further expansion.
The subsidiaries are laying the foundations for further growth. Schubert System Elektronik GmbH is currently constructing a new building that reflects the company’s ongoing successful development and will soon be ready. The total volume of investment in the company’s future development is 14 million euros. Last year, the Schubert Fertigungstechnik GmbH (formerly Schubert + Edelmann) invested close to 1 million euros in its machinery park, therefore making an important contribution to achieving Gerhard Schubert GmbH’s business objectives.
The engineering experts at Schubert, who have been operating under the Schubert Packaging Systems GmbH name since the beginning of the year (formerly IPS), with a very positive order volume, is very well positioned for the current fiscal year. The company sees great potential, especially in the area of systems engineering: “As a vital part of the Schubert brand, systems engineering in the area of final packaging is one of our great strengths. We want to expand this segment even further for the future,” explains Olaf Horrenberger, Managing Director of Schubert Packaging Systems. The Schubert-Pharma expert team is also developing very positively as an independent brand for the highly discerning pharmaceutical sector. “Our expertise is increasingly in demand. Our business with pharmaceutical customers is continuously growing and contributing significantly to sales growth,” adds Olaf Horrenberger.
