OPTIMA packaging group GmbH (Schwäbisch Hall) closed the 2016 financial year with a turnover of over €340 million. This exceeded the previous year's above-average sales level of EUR 330 million. The company is currently planning an investment volume of 50 million euros for its headquarters in Schwäbisch Hall.
Over 80 per cent of sales are generated abroad. Optima generated an increase of five per cent on the European market in 2016. In contrast, there were slight declines in North America. Hans Bühler, Managing Partner of Optima, comments: „Major projects influence Optima's country-specific sales development from year to year. These figures are therefore as a snapshot to understand.“
Investment thanks to sales growth
The development of Optima sales in 2016 was therefore roughly on a par with the German industry as a whole: estimates by the VDMA (German Engineering Federation) expect the production of packaging machines in Germany to increase by three per cent to 6.47 billion euros (source: VDMA and Federal Statistical Office). The significant increase in turnover over the past few years - an increase of 120 million euros in five years - and the generally favourable outlook are prompting Optima to invest. Over the next five years, new buildings will be constructed and existing space in Schwäbisch Hall will be expanded.
„Several areas will benefit from this,“ reports Hans Bühler: „Construction measures are planned for the Group's central administration, logistics, parts production and the Optima Pharma division. We are thus realising significant More efficient processes for the entire company, for example by shortening internal logistics routes, and freeing up space for further growth.“ The authorisation procedures for the construction projects are underway.
Employees and locations
Optima employs 2,150 people worldwide. Of the 1,800 employees in Germany, 1,550 currently work in Schwäbisch Hall. Outside Germany, Optima has 350 employees at 13 locations. New jobs were created in Germany in particular, with around 50 in Schwäbisch Hall alone. More than 155 trainees are employed by the company worldwide, the majority of them in Schwäbisch Hall.
The company R+E Automation Technology (Fellbach) has been part of the Optima Group since July 2016. R+E Automation Technology manufactures feeding solutions and customised machines. Optima has thus acquired a fourth location in Germany. Optima Pharma in Mornshausen (near Marburg) specialises in the manufacture of pharmaceutical freeze-drying systems. In Radolfzell, METALL+PLASTIC produces isolators and other systems and products for pharmaceutical sterile processes. All four business divisions are represented in Schwäbisch Hall: Optima Consumer, Optima Nonwovens, Optima Life Science and Optima Pharma.
Virtual Reality Centre
In 2016, Optima participated in the realisation of the Virtual Reality Centres, which is operated by Packaging Valley Germany e.V. in Schwäbisch Hall. Meetings and training sessions with customers take place in the VR centre on virtual models, which can contain all the details of the machine projects even before they are built. Virtual reality, with all its possibilities, is regarded as a key technology for the future. Optima hopes that the VR Centre will drive innovation and development work forward and make collaboration with customers even more efficient.
