Modern's 12th-annual survey of top worldwide materials handling systems suppliers shows that 2008 was a year of stability for the top players.
By Lorie King Rogers, Associate Editor -- Modern Materials Handling,
The more things change, the more they stay the same. At least that’s true with this year’s Top 20 systems suppliers list, since 19 of this year’s top suppliers were also on last year’s list. The rankings are slightly different, but the names remain almost the same.
The combined revenue of all the Top 20 systems suppliers was more than $15.3 billion. Companies had to report at least $219 million in revenue to make the cut this year.
Once again, Schaefer Systems International holds the No. 1 position on the list, with $2.51 billion in revenue, up from $2.41 billion in 2007. Schaefer attributes its growth in large part to currency fluctuations. Daifuku Co. Ltd. came in at No. 2 with $2.41 billion. The most important news from the leaders was the October acquisition by Schaefer of systems integrator and software provider Salomon Automation.
Schaefer and Daifuku were not the only companies to experience growth in 2008. In fact, 17 of the Top 20 companies reported revenue increases for fiscal year 2008.
New to the list
Legris Industries bursts onto the Top 20 list in the No. 3 position this year, with an impressive $1.09 billion in sales revenue in 2008.
Because the bulk of Legris’ business is located outside
Welcome back
Dematic returns in the No. 4 position holding steady with $1 billion in sales. The biggest gains were reported by Vanderlande Industries (No. 5) up 24%; TGW Transportgerate, now known as TGW Logistics Group, (No. 13) also up 24%; Murata Machinery (No. 8) up 16%; Kardex AG (No. 10) up 10%; and FlexLink Systems (No. 20) also up 10%.
Vanderlande Industries, which moves up one notch in the ranking, attributes its steady growth to a geographical spread of activities including its fairly new organization in
Swisslog (No. 9) credits its 9% increase in revenue in part to the acquisition of Dutch company Ergotrans. The move expands Swisslog’s core product line of pneumatic tube systems for the healthcare market and is in line with its strategy to expand its presence in European markets through selected acquisitions.
In the No. 10 position, Kardex AG saw a 10% increase in revenue. In 2008, Kardex AG, parent company of Kardex Remstar International, acquired the assets of
Columbus McKinnon (No. 11) saw an increase of 6%, undoubtedly as a result of some give and take—divesting Univeyor in
Holding at No. 18 for the second-consecutive year, HK Systems experienced a strong 2008, thanks in part to a number of large projects and the robust business of HK Production Logistics, which provides integrated warehousing and order fulfillment management.
Based in
Rounding out the list at No. 7 is FKI reporting $784 million for 2008 sales.
Making the list
To be eligible for Modern’s Top 20, companies must have a presence in North America to be considered worldwide suppliers and must be suppliers of materials handling systems, not just equipment providers. Companies must manufacture at least two major handling system components. These equipment types include transportation devices, storage and staging equipment, picking units, sortation systems, data capture technologies, software and controls.
In addition, companies must also employ full-time staff that design, install, integrate and implement materials handling systems.
2009 outlook
Looking ahead to next year, there are some companies that may be vying for a spot on the list. Keep an eye on Eisenmann GmbH. Its 2008 revenue was $200 million. Another one to watch: Wynright. Last December Warehouse Equipment Inc. (WEI) consolidated with six affiliated companies and changed its name to Wynright. Its combined revenue in 2008 was $182 million—not enough to make this list, but enough to make it a viable contender for next year’s list.
In March of this year, Mecalux completed its $30 million purchase of the UFI/Interlake assets, which includes plants in Pontiac, Ill., Sumter, S.C., Mexicali and Matamoros, Mexico. The company, which has changed its American division name to Interlake Mecalux Inc., says this is a market opportunity that means growing its presence in North America further enhancing their global expansion plan.
Last year’s revenue was up, mostly as a result of projects already in the works. Many questions are yet to be answered about 2009, not the least of which is the impact of a challenging economy. Leading economic indicators for materials handling equipment manufacturing (MHEM) point to continued contraction. Here are a few MHEM predictions for 2009:
New orders will decline about 19%
Shipments will contract about 15%
Domestic demand will contract about 15%, exports will decline as demand in the economy contracts.
But once we get through this year, we expect some bright spots to appear in late 2009.
|
2008 Rank |
Company |
Web site |
2007 Rank |
Worldwide 2008 revenue (US) |
Headquarters |
|
1 |
Schaefer Systems International Inc. |
1 |
$2.51 billion |
Neunkirchen, Germany | |
|
2 |
Daifuku Co. Ltd. |
2 |
$2.41 billion |
Osaka, Japan | |
|
3 |
Legris Industries |
N/A |
$1.09 billion |
Rennes, France | |
|
4 |
Dematic |
4 |
$1 billion |
Offenbach, Germany | |
|
5 |
Vanderlande Industries |
6 |
$911 million |
Veghel, The Netherlands | |
|
6 |
Mecalux, S.A. |
5 |
$888 million |
Barcelona, Spain | |
|
7 |
FKI plc |
3 |
$784 million |
Loughborough, UK | |
|
8 |
Murata Machinery Ltd. |
8 |
$778 million |
Kyoto, Japan | |
|
9 |
Swisslog AG |
7 |
$744 million |
Buchs, Switzerland | |
|
10 |
Kardex AG |
9 |
$681 million |
Zurich, Switzerland | |
|
11 |
Columbus McKinnon Corp. |
10 |
$635 million |
Amherst, N.Y. | |
|
12 |
Fives Group |
11 |
$500 million |
Paris, France | |
|
13 |
TGW Transportgerate GmbH* |
12 |
$409 million |
Wels, Austria | |
|
14 |
Beumer Maschinenfabrik GmbH |
17 |
$380 million |
Beckum, Germany | |
|
15 |
Knapp Logistik Automation GmbH |
15 |
$323 million |
Graz, Austria | |
|
16 |
Witron GmbH |
13 |
$300 million |
Parkstein, Germany | |
|
17 |
UFI (United Fixtures/Interlake)** |
14 |
$266 million |
Naperville, Ill. | |
|
18 |
HK Systems Inc. |
18 |
|
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