Order volume tops one billion euros for Knapp

Intralogistics automation provider, Knapp, has announced its results for the business year 2018-2019, which show order volume exceeded the one billion euros mark for the first time in the company’s history, while net turnover rose by 34.5% to 954 million euros.

Profits were also up by 44.2%, with an EBIT of 65.2 million euros.

The Managing Board – Gerald Hofer (CEO), Franz Mathi (COO) and Christian Grabner (CFO) – ascribed KNAPP’s ongoing success to continuous investment. In the last year alone, the company invested over 43 million euros in buildings and infrastructure, and a further 48 million in research and development – an increase of 25%.

“One major challenge we face is finding the right employees and integrating them in the company,” explained Christian Grabner, CFO. “To help us do so, we have invested in employer branding activities in recent years.”

The company has launched the ‘KNAPP goes green’ campaign to promote the use of electric vehicles and public transport, which received 1.4 million euros of funding from the company. Over 370 employees are now taking part, with further initiatives in the pipeline.

The integrator recognises the need for continued investment in innovation. “In the future we will need to work with highly integrated networks that extend from production all the way to the end customer,” explained Franz Mathi, COO. “There are new technological approaches to this trend that we are using as the basis for our solutions.” Gerald Hofer, CEO, added: “The value creation chains for products and services are constantly changing. It’s vital that we change with them and recognise new trends.”