Download Annual Report 2006 - Mühlbauer Group

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, MANAGEMENT REPORT37documents, which was commenced in 2005, was consolidatedand extended to cover further processes in the 2006financial year, in order to increase purchasing’s efficiencyand productivity. Additional focuses were on the scheduledintroduction of a partnership model in the area of nonproductionrelated materials, in which the emphasis is onthe optimization of business processes and the reductionof the number of variants and suppliers. Mühlbauer expectsthe independent management by a select consortiumof suppliers and the outsourcing of related logisticsresponsibilities to result in considerably simpler processingand a lower capital commitment.Our close cooperation and partnership with suppliers,based on a win-win relationship, our modern procurementmanagement as well as long-term delivery schedules andvolume bundling provide us with a wide range of tools thatenable us to ensure on-schedule delivery, even in difficultsituations – such as on international commodities markets– and to relativize the impact of rising prices on our productionmaterials.EMPLOYMENTIt is our claim, within global economy, to be a strong companythat participates in designing the future. A fundamentalrequirement for this is a strong team, which acknowledgesthe corporate culture that has developed over the25 years of the company’s existence and expresses it in itsactions. To us, strong commitment, responsibility, flexibility,speed and openness, team spirit and loyalty are not justkeywords, but the foundation of our corporate philosophyand independence.For the intersection between the corporate strategy and individualobjectives to be as large as possible and tostrengthen the employees’ identification with the company,the Mühlbauer Group pursues not only a top-down but alsoa bottom-up strategy in staff development. In this context,top-down means that our executives – at all levels –regularly participate in seminars and workshops in ourmodern training center, to meet the growing and rapidlychanging requirements of leadership in an internationalgroup of companies. On top of that, our managers regularlyparticipate in cultural trainings to incorporate the corevalues and the self-image of the company and pass theseon to the team. Furthermore, we place great value on onlypromoting suitable staff to executive positions. For thisreason, regular ability analyses are performed to identifysuitable employees and strengthen their methodical andsocial competences via customized training measures. Wealso apply this strategy to our trainees and apprentices:we identify the most efficient at an early stage and offerthem additional encouragement and interesting prospectswithin the company – already during their training.Development of the average employee structure1,6001,2008004000200573193144265758200681208145289806Part-timeTrainees andapprenticesAdministrationand salesResearch anddevelopmentProduction andassemblyThe training of young people has played a major role sincethe existence of the Mühlbauer Group. We continually pursuethis commitment in a modern training center includinga training workshop and computer facilities and every yearwe give numerous young people the opportunity to completequalified professional training in more than 15 differentjobs requiring training. The Mühlbauer Group currentlyprovides training to 238 (PY: 222) trainees and apprentices.This corresponds to a share in training of 14.8% (PY:15.2%). We consider the qualified training and further educationof staff a key commitment, which the Group will continueto take seriously in future.On the reporting date the Mühlbauer Group employed1,608 staff – 147 more than in the previous year (PY:1,461). Due to the increasing level of internationality of theMühlbauer Group, several new employees were recruited,particularly in Asia and the Group’s new technologicalbase in Malaysia. In the year under review, personnel expenditureof the Mühlbauer Group amounted to EUR 54.4million. This represents an increase of 9.0% over the previousyear (EUR 49.9 million). Salaries and wages accountfor EUR 44.9 million (PY: EUR 41.1 million). Social securitycontributions amounted to EUR 9.5 million (PY: EUR 8.8million), which corresponds to an increase of 8.6%.The percentages were determined on the basis of the exact figures and may differ from the rounding figures