THE LÄPPLE GROUP IS GROWING – THE MARKET ENVIRONMENT REMAINS CRITICAL

In a market environment that remains volatile, the LÄPPLE Group successfully closed the year 2021 with a sales revenue of €485.9 million, about 24 percent more than in the previous year. The company has made a good start to the current fiscal year. In view of the current global economic situation, the Group expects that it will have to respond flexibly to customer needs as the year progresses.

 

FISCAL YEAR 2021

The LÄPPLE Group mastered the second pandemic year with its additional market challenges very well. The first quarter of 2021 was driven by strong volumes in the automotive business. In the second and third quarters, the Rotary Table and Automation divisions were particularly affected by the global material bottlenecks. Semiconductor shortages and supply difficulties led to production interruptions at automakers. The AUTOMOTVE business unit profited in the fourth quarter from strong orders for premium vehicles. Furthermore, there was a noticeable revival of the Standard Parts market as forming dies for upcoming vehicle generations were launched on the market.

The planned structural measures for increasing competitiveness were successfully completed in 2021. Customer supply was safeguarded at all times. "Our processes are stable and resilient. We see that our strategy has led us safely through the pandemic and the supply crisis," says Stephan Itter, Chief Financial Officer of the LÄPPLE Group.

In 2021, the LÄPPLE GROUP VIRTUAL DAYS, the LÄPPLE Group's first digital trade show for customers, took place. For the focus topic of sustainability, the climate balance of all sites was evaluated in 2021 with an external partner in order to define a sustainability roadmap. This roadmap will be implemented consistently over the next few years. As a first important milestone, the Heilbronn and Teublitz sites have already switched completely to green electricity from hydropower.

"We used the year to modernize and rebuild the Heilbronn site," says Klemens Schmiederer, CEO of the LÄPPLE Group. "Through new product developments and the digitization of processes in all business areas, we believe we are well positioned for the future." The company is sticking to its strategic course.

 

CURRENT SITUATION AND OUTLOOK

In recent years, LÄPPLE AUTOMOTIVE has evolved from a press part manufacturer to a module supplier and will maintain this orientation in 2022. Series ramp-ups for projects have started and major orders have been won in the premium and spare parts business. 

FIBRO Normalien was commissioned by an American electric vehicle manufacturer and has therefore also successfully positioned itself in the e-mobility market. In addition, the business area is expanding its order picking services and is a system supplier for tool-specific order picking of all standard parts products for a German premium vehicle manufacturer.

FIBRO Rundtische has used the year to develop new products, such as a new modular series. With this series, the business area was able to win an order in additive manufacturing. The order situation in Asia has stabilized encouragingly.

FLT has succeeded in winning a major automation contract for an American electric vehicle manufacturer and has therefore repositioned itself in the field of e-mobility.

2021 LÄPPLE AUS- UND WEITERBILDUNG has intensively expanded its range of further training courses. In addition to new certifications and the start of commercial retraining courses at the Heilbronn site, retraining courses were also offered for the first time at the Teublitz site. In addition, the proprietary learning app offers modern and innovative learning support for all educational areas.

The Group is working more intensively on various digitalization projects and is investing in two technologies in the area of Automation 4.0: The LÄPPLE Group is promoting mobile tool machining together with the startup Picum MT. In addition, the digital twin for body-in-white production is being expanded – a virtual production facility with analytical process monitoring.

 

ABOUT THE LÄPPLE GROUP

The LÄPPLE Group is an international and independent supplier of press parts, bodyshell components, standard parts, rotary tables and automation solutions. Innovative product development, state-of-the-art technologies and the passion of its approximately 2,500 employees – for over 100 years, the name LÄPPLE has stood for quality and reliability. A unique practice-oriented training and further education offering by the certified education company LÄPPLE AUS- UND WEITERBILDUNG guarantees this efficiency in the future as well.

LÄPPLE AUTOMOTIVE is a specialist for sheet metal and forming solutions in the field of bodyshell construction for international premium automotive suppliers. As a system partner for forming and stamping tools, FIBRO Normalien offers not only numerous product innovations, but also services for process optimization in the global toolmaking market. FIBRO Rundtische carries a wide range of products with various models of rotary tables for the machine tool market and the automation industry. FIBRO LÄPPLE TECHNOLOGY (FLT) is the Group’s knowledge hub when it comes to automation. FLT develops, builds and installs intelligent automation solutions for customers worldwide.