Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
operations we broadened the monthly surveys of<br />
customer satisfaction to include regions outside<br />
Europe.<br />
Together with an external consultant we initiated<br />
a multi-year program to improve employee<br />
qualifications in which top-level executives will<br />
be actively involved. The primary objective of this<br />
program is to prepare younger talents for greater<br />
management and business responsibilities. Dörries<br />
Scharmann Group is involved in the program<br />
as well. Systematic employee health and safety<br />
policies were also implemented during the past<br />
year.<br />
Confident outlook for 2012<br />
The ongoing uncertainty on financial markets and<br />
its potential knock-on effect on the real economy<br />
have impacted our customers’ long-term capital<br />
spending plans. A crucial factor for the machine<br />
tool market is the state of the economy in the<br />
major Asian markets – China and India. We are<br />
establishing offices in Mexico and Brazil to address<br />
the growing importance of Latin American<br />
markets. On the product front, four new machine<br />
concepts that will deliver lasting productivity gains<br />
to our customers will be introduced. Therefore,<br />
assuming a stable economy, we expect to report<br />
higher order intake, sales and operating profits in<br />
fiscal 2012 and we continue to maintain our longterm<br />
target of an average EBIT margin of 8 % over<br />
the machine tool manufacturing cycle.<br />
Starrag Group <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> <strong>2011</strong> 35<br />
––
Change language