Annual Report 2010 - Melitta

24 Melitta MelittaUnternehmensgruppe Group Annual Report Geschäftsbericht 2010 2008
Melitta SystemService
Strong improvement in investment climate
The beginning of fiscal year 2010 was still dominated on
the whole by the effects of the financial crisis. Although
Germany was quick to recover, the propensity to invest
in capital goods remained low in central European
markets. By the end of the year, however, there was a
noticeable upturn in our markets. On the whole, the
year exceeded the expectations of the operating division
Melitta SystemService. With new major international
orders and the successful launch of a new fully automatic
machine, the Melitta c35, we were able to generate
double-digit sales growth.
More international and professional
In addition to a sustained improvement in our operating
business, we also took steps to improve our business
organization. The aim is to drive the division’s international
expansion and become more effective and professional.
The measures include the introduction of centralized
functions, such as the “International Technology
Center” and “International Technical Customer Service”,
as well as the establishment of a “Global Account
Management” unit. In order to achieve greater market
proximity and improve customer retention, we also
reduced the number of hierarchy levels. Marketing
expenditure has also been centralized.
Harald Johanning-Meiners
CEO
In addition to these organizational measures, a further
key topic in the reporting period was the revision of our
product strategy. We now aim to strictly implement this
strategy in the coming two years.
Outlook 2011: Leveraging growth potential
through technological leadership and structural
improvements
We will continue our successful development in the
current year and lay further foundations for sustainable
and profitable growth. We will focus above all on
enhancing our innovative strength and aim to become
the technological leader in our B2B business.
We also see growth potential in the Asia-Pacific region,
which is still enjoying strong economic growth. With the
aid of new partners in this region and additional staff,
we aim to achieve a wide-ranging improvement in our
market positions. Due to the ongoing economic difficulties,
the USA remains a tough but interesting market.
We have strengthened our sales team here in order to
widen the basis of our business operations. In Europe,
we expect conditions to stabilize further and aim to
capture market share with the measures already implemented.