In face of global recession, Festo chief sees growth

“We must differentiate by regions. I see 6-8% higher revenues in 2009 for our company in the Americas,” said Festo Chief Executive Dr. Eberhard Veit.
“As well, we expect a 4-8% up tick in Asia, and probably some growth in Europe though we are prepared for a decline,” Veit today told the 7th International Festo Press Conference in Delft, The Netherlands.
These would seem to be bold declarations in light of recent world economic events including the “official” announcement the world’s top consumer, the U.S., is in a recession.
The company bases its confidence, these numbers, and its predictions on direct reports from its customers. Festo contends it is in constant contact with its clients.
“Seventy percent of product development happens in the planning of the product, in the concept stage,” said Thomas Pehrson, general manager of Festo Netherlands, “so if you don’t involve the customer, you’re fooling yourself.”
Added Veit, “If we were to only rely on pneumatics, we would be facing a decline in sales. However, since we have electric drives and their take is increasing, we will more than compensate for any decline in the pneumatics sector.”
Festo supplies pneumatic and electrical automation technology primarily in Europe but has a strong global presence, too.
It also offers many industrial training and vocational education courses that help those in emerging economies work with automation concepts and products.
Last year it had sales of $2.15 billion (€1.65 billion) and Veit sees a 3% increase in 2008.
-- Nicholas Sheble