palfinger at a glance

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Foreword by the CEO
palfinger at a Glance
Foreword by the CEO
Dear Shareholders,
Thank you very much for your interest in our Most Flexible Annual Report Ever. Flexibility, which has
been a defined pillar of our strategy for two years now, was an important issue for PALFINGER in
the volatile environment of 2011 and is going to become even more important in the future. Hence,
this Annual Report may well be our most flexible one ever, but our Company will continue to
increase its flexibility.
2011 was a highly successful year for PALFINGER. The structural measures implemented by us
made their mark and our markets recorded growth. The figures presented in this Report and their
growth rates are evidence of this highly satisfactory development. To us, they confirm that we have
emerged from the crisis of 2008 and 2009 stronger than before, and also as compared to our
direct competitors. The continued internationalization and the acquisitions carried out in Europe,
North America and CIS in previous years have made a significant contribution to this development.
Large markets for PALFINGER, such as Germany or France, generated the major part of the growth
achieved, but our younger markets recorded much higher growth rates.
“2011 was a highly successful year
for us. We believe that further
growth is going to take place
primarily in the regions outside
Europe.”
The debt crisis in the euro area and the resulting uncertainty on the financial markets were exacerbated
in the second half of 2011. They are going to have an impact on the real economy and
consequently also on our markets. This trend became visible in the number of orders received in the
European core markets in the last months of 2011. Therefore, present developments suggest that
the further growth of PALFINGER in the near future is going to take place primarily in the regions
outside Europe.
All of this only goes to show how important internationalization has been so far (without it we
would not have been able to achieve record revenue figures in 2011) and will continue to be in
the future. Especially Russia, Brazil and the markets in Asia have turned from “future markets” into
markets where strong growth has actually been recorded.
In 2011, we took a step of major strategic importance in Russia by acquiring the leading Russian
crane producer INMAN. We now have good value-creation structures and a locally renowned product
in this huge market. Our strategy in China is still being prepared. All signs point to increased
demand in China for the products offered by PALFINGER in the years to come; strong construction
activity and mounting payroll costs are only two of the factors accounting for this increase in
demand. We aspire to be the global market leader, which is why we also want to tap this part of
the global market.
Our aim of achieving sustainably profitable growth also includes, however, our responsibility for the
environment and society. Product innovations and our rate of energy efficiency will remain at the
focus of our attention, as will the health and safety of our staff. We will be continuously implementing
and communicating the relevant initiatives within the entire Group.
Even though forecasts do not show a rosy picture at present, we believe that we are well-positioned
for the future. As compared to our position in 2009, the year of crisis, we have significantly improved
our structures and gained flexibility so as to enable us to adjust to new circumstances. Our employees
have not only supported the changes made, they have, in fact, made this success possible. I would
like to thank them for this on behalf of the entire Management Board, the Palfinger family and all
the shareholders.
Herbert Ortner
palfinger Annual Report 2011
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