New drive – Curtain up for the technology of the future - DEUTZ Home

Photo: DEUTZ AG
Dr Helmut Leube
New drive
The 2009 financial year has been one of the
most difficult in DEUTZ AG‘s long history.
For the first six months of 2008, impressive
results were still being reported. Then two years
ago this summer an unforeseeable crisis began
to set in that went beyond the financial sector
and soon entered the real economy. For DEUTZ
this meant having to cope with severe setbacks.
What began as a consequence of poor speculation
by bankers, soon entered the real economies
of North America and Europe and resulted
in a dramatic drop in demand, primarily for mobile
machinery, our largest segment. Engine unit
sales more than halved going from 252,359 units
down to 117,961 units with the drop in revenue
being slightly less at 42.2 % and amounting to
g863.4 million. Operating profit before one-off
items crashed to g–46.3 million. But in this difficult
year we quickly took appropriate measures.
Since its start, the MOVE package of measures to
reduce costs and raise efficiency, has achieved
savings of around g136 million from material and
Editorial
overhead costs. However, personnel measures,
such as short-time working, temporary staff cutbacks,
early retirement and even enforced redundancies,
were still necessary to achieve long-term
reductions in fixed costs and to ensure our competitiveness.
In addition, over the past 12 months
we have sharply focussed on our working capital
and cash flow situations. Internal financing has
meant a positive operative cash flow situation despite
the severe collapse in sales. By the end of
2009, we had managed to survive the crisis practically
debt-free.
For the first time since the onset of the crisis, we
were able to report a clear rise in demand at the
year end. The fourth quarter confirmed the trend
with an approximate positive operating result.
DEUTZ has passed the low point of the crisis.
Looking to this year, we can affirm a clear continuation
of this positive development. Turnover
and sales for the first quarter of 2010 are above
expectations. A significantly improved order book
means we can expect 2010 to be much better
than 2009.
Find out on p.18 how DEUTZ set a new course
for the future while being in the midst of the biggest
crisis of current times. In spite of the severe
economic situation we kept looking ahead and
developed the two new TCD 2.9 L4 and TCD 3.6
L4 engines. They are also the central point of this
year‘s bauma stand (p.8). And it isn‘t just these
two that are new at DEUTZ. To highlight the technological
advance represented by the development
of our engines for Tier 4 interim emissions,
all DEUTZ engines from this emission stage will
receive new product designations. Find out on
p.10 how these will look.
Dear DEUTZ LIVE readers, we have shown that
even in times of crisis we do not lose sight of
what‘s important. Technological expertise and
the ability to demonstrate strength under extreme
conditions is what marks us out. Looking to the
future – that is DEUTZ. Let us look ahead together
and go into the future with new energy from our
new engines.
Yours,
Dr Helmut Leube
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