Mesutronic Gerätebau GmbH, the Lower Bavarian specialist for industrial foreign object inspection systems, has started its international expansion following another record sales year in 2016 and has been operating on the French market since January 2017 with its wholly-owned subsidiary Mesutronic France SAS (Colmar).
„Sales of inspection devices were significantly better than planned in 2016,“ says Karl-Heinz Dürrmeier (58), Managing Partner of Mesutronic Gerätebau GmbH.
Accordingly, turnover rose by 16.4 per cent compared to the previous year 2015 and, at 19.1 million euros, reached the highest level in the company's 25-year history. 178 employees (plus 20), including 19 trainees, are employed at the Kirchberg im Wald site. Mesutronic is represented in 40 countries worldwide via sales offices.
According to Karl-Heinz Dürrmeier, two new product ranges ensured further growth in Germany and internationally in 2016. The newly developed X-ray inspection system „easySCOPE“, which recognises metallic and non-metallic impurities (stones, glass and plastics) in packaged products, has been established on the market and will ensure a further increase in sales figures in 2017. Another highlight is the innovative inspection system „autoTest“, which supports users in their daily work and ensures process reliability and product quality.
Bonjour France
According to Karl-Heinz Dürrmeier, the expansion into France is part of the Growth strategy. „In order to be even closer to the French market, we have decided to establish a subsidiary,“ says Dürrmeier, explaining the reasons for the local entry. Mesutronic France SAS, based in Colmar, Alsace, is a simplified public limited company (Societé par actions simplifiée) under French law and is intended to ensure optimum responsiveness for service and consulting. France, with its 66 million inhabitants, is the second largest market in Europe after Germany. The particularly important Food industry, where Mesutronic products are used to monitor unwanted metal, glass or stone foreign objects, is on a similar level to Germany. The office with two employees for sales and service is managed by Francois Schellenbaum, who has been working in the industrial foreign object detection sector for 29 years. He has had a relationship with Mesutronic for over ten years. „I am delighted to now be a direct part of the company,“ says Francois Schellenbaum, who officially acts as Regional Manager France.
The International expansion strategy will continue over the next few years, according to Dürrmeier. Demand from the food industry continues to rise. The export ratio has risen by 2 percentage points to 69 per cent compared to the previous year. The medium-term goal is still to increase annual turnover to around 25 million euros.
Demand for skilled labour
According to Dürrmeier, further company growth also depends on qualified specialists. The inspection equipment manufacturer relies on the In-house trainingAccording to Karl-Heinz Dürrmeier, 19 young employees are currently being trained in Kirchberg, four of them in office and administration and 15 in the technical area. After successfully completing their training, it goes without saying that they will be taken on in a normal employment relationship. After the practical training, further theoretical training, for example in the „Mechanical Engineering“ or „Electrical Engineering“ degree programmes, is very useful. This dual training system provides the ideal employees for a medium-sized company.
