Annual Report 2011 (5.07 MB, PDF-File) - Oerlikon

Exceeding the demands
of our customers
Oerlikon is well prepared for the future. With an EBIT margin of
10 %, we have achieved a breakthrough that has taken us to a
new level of profitability. But we have no intention of resting on
our laurels. We are determined to sustain growth and steadily
increase our profitability. In the medium to long-term, we expect
good opportunities, despite the uncertainty of current
economic conditions, and intend to take full advantage of
them.
Our company is present and active in key global growth markets:
clothing, transportation, food, infrastructure, energy and
electronics. Approximately 50 % of all high-quality clothing yarn
produced in the world is made on Oerlikon’s textile machines.
State-of-the-art, low-emissions diesel technology relies heavily
on Oerlikon’s innovative coatings. Every other tire on the road
uses cord made on Oerlikon equipment. About 70 % of all agricultural
machinery contains components made by our company.
Almost every single cell phone in the world contains electronic
components produced on Oerlikon machines. The
creation and expansion of infrastructure is made possible by
construction machinery equipped with Oerlikon transmission
components, geotextiles for road building and landscaping woven
on Oerlikon machines, and architectural glass produced
using Oerlikon vacuums. In the energy sector, Oerlikon facilitates
the efficient extraction of conventional energy sources
and, with its cutting-edge photovoltaic solutions, currently offers
manufacturers the most cost-efficient method of production
in the photovoltaic industry.
A growing world population, increasing urbanization and the
urgent need to protect the environment are fueling demand for
industrial manufacturing solutions that are more efficient, as well
as of higher quality and cleaner. This is the focus of Oerlikon’s
efforts: to develop components and production solutions that
meet and exceed the ever-increasing demands of our customers
and that allow them to gain competitive advantage. It is for
precisely this reason we invest so heavily in research and development
every year – expenditures in 2011 totaled CHF 213 million,
approximately 5 % of sales.
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In 2011, we succeeded in laying the technological basis for
sustained economic success through the introduction of new,
ground breaking innovations. At the Barcelona ITMA in September
2011, the Textile Segment presented new products
and components that use up to 50 % less energy (“e-save”)
and deliver productivity gains of up to 25 %. Drive Systems presented
vehicle manufacturers with transmission prototypes for
new electric drive systems and supplied transmissions for an
entire fleet of electric vehicles used by a Parisian auto-sharing
program. Oerlikon Vacuum expanded its portfolio with the
launch of the MAGiNTEGRA turbo-molecular vacuum pump, a
product that allows new applications, i.e. in steel manufacturing.
With the introduction of its second-generation ThinFab
production line, Oerlikon Solar now offers the most favorable
module production costs in the solar industry. Oerlikon Coating
developed the groundbreaking coating technology S3p TM ,
which bonds previously incompatible substances by employing
extremely hard, smooth and super-adhesive coatings, opening
up totally new areas of application. Advanced Technologies’
new HEXAGON semiconductor coating machine features three
times greater throughput in the process, significantly improving
efficiency.
To best market these solutions, Oerlikon aims to be as close to
its customers as possible, particularly in emerging markets. We
currently generate 49 % of our sales in Asia, and the trend continues
to point upward. With over 1 000 employees, the Suzhou
plant is already one of Oerlikon’s largest sites, and we continue
to expand our presence in Asia, and China in particular.
Oerlikon Textile relocated its headquarters to Shanghai – becoming
the first Oerlikon Segment to be managed out of Asia.