Despite the Crisis, Bizerba is Increasing Sales and Investing in the Future

Revenue in the previous fiscal year was based traditionally on a strong home market. With 25% of sales overall, Germany is still the most important market for Bizerba. Nearly half of sales were made in other European countries. 23% came from the Americas region, which saw an increase in sales as compared to the previous year.

Revenue distribution in the various industry segments in 2020 remains stable. The industry segments Retail, Labels & Consumables and Service reported significant growth. The staff numbers saw an increase to 4,302 employees, of which 2,342 hold positions outside of Germany.

“We were able to reach our sales target in 2020 despite the global crisis. I am proud of these results and of all of my employees, who made this possible”, says Andreas Kraut, CEO and Shareholder at Bizerba. “In 2021 and the years to come, we will build on this performance and continue to offer our innovative approaches to our customers with even more unique solutions."

The main drivers of success are the core areas weighing, slicing and labeling technology. However, the Business Services division also contributed a large share, as did the various financing offers that the company provides. Bizerba strengthened its locations with investments in the amount of EUR 20.6 million.

2020 began promising with EuroShop in Düsseldorf. Considered the global industry meeting place for the retail sector, this major trade show was still able to take place in January 2020. Unfortunately, the subsequent trade shows, such as Interpack, were canceled due to COVID-19.

Our innovative technologies allowed us to take advantage of this opportunity and provide our customers with direct added value by offering the right solutions at the right time. In the food sector especially, our customers were benefited from our software and digital service options, but also from the high hygiene standards of our solutions.

Our remote service capabilities, which allow service calls to be made via digital channels, experienced a virtual boost in 2020, saving around 15,000 service calls in Germany alone. This service option was a key factor in maintaining the operation of our solutions and thus the growth of our business.

Construction of the new, state-of-the-art global logistics center for spare parts logistics began in 2019 at the main and service location in Balingen. The goal of completing the project at the end of 2021 is currently still considered to be well in reach. The building will be fully commissioned by early 2022. The logistics center will include a pallet and a small parts warehouse that will feature semi-automatic order picking. It is designed for approximately 45 employees and about 1,000 packages per day.

For Bizerba, product innovations play a major role. For over 150 years, it has been our goal to offer the very best solutions with cutting-edge technology in order to deliver compelling value to our customers.

The cooperation with the Israeli startup Supersmart, which was launched in 2019, achieved considerable success in 2020. In Turkey and the Czech Republic, we were able to launch our checkout solution Supersmart powered by Bizerba in large store chains. We have also already completed initial installations in other countries, such as Germany. What's more, Bizerba was named "Top Supplier Retail 2020" at Euroshop 2020 for the installation of the solution at Makro in the Czech Republic.

In the industrial environment, other innovations were launched in 2020. With the Bizerba CleanCut® Linerless Solution, our customers are able for the first time to apply labels around the packaging and – in the interest of sustainability – to use so-called linerless labels (without backing paper). The reverse side of these labels is not fully covered with adhesive, so when labels are cut during the labeling process, the benefit is that no adhesive residue is left on the knife. This translates to longer runtimes for the machines, more labeled packages per line, and clear added value for our customers.

In the checkweigher sector, we introduced the fast CWEmaxx 600, which inspects weights at a speed of up to 600 parts per minute and rejects any incorrect units. At the same time, the device is designed for use in the most difficult industrial conditions.

In the labels sector, our linerless labels are in strong demand. In our label portfolio, we offer customized solutions for any industry.

Bizerba scales are synonymous with our expertise gained from over 150 years of experience. Today there is no scale that works without the software. So, Bizerba is systematically expanding its software competence. Here, the focus is on digital solutions for industry and retail. Bizerba solutions can all be networked and integrated online. This allows for an abundance of possibilities via the software, which can be realized by using apps, integrating artificial intelligence (e.g. object recognition) and combining the technologies.

Not only is Bizerba's product portfolio being digitalized, but its internal processes and workflows are being digitally optimized as well. Bizerba has now become a global Group, which is manifested in uniform IT standards worldwide. For instance, Microsoft Teams has become the standard tool in our daily work.

Updating our SAP environment and migrating to S/4HANA will guide us as a comprehensive business transformation project over the next few years, and it will bring new opportunities as well.

Obviously, this internal and external digitalization offensive brings with it its own set of issues relating to information security and data protection, issues that we take very seriously. We are committed to satisfying the highest standards in these projects.

Capacities at Bizerba's main plant in Balingen are stretched to the limit. Increasingly volatile markets and higher quantities require more production flexibility and the ability to allocate capacities. This is why Bizerba has decided to expand production in Eastern Europe.

Over the next few years, Bizerba will invest around € 30 million in a new production building with approx. 10,000 m2 for up to 300 employees at its site in Valjevo in Serbia.

Preparations and planning are already well underway, and production in Valjevo is scheduled to commence at the end of 2022.

During the first months in 2021, we were able to continue the good development from 2020 at Bizerba. In the Retail division, we are experiencing very high demand, while the Industry division remains a solid pillar of our business, and so overall, we have already surpassed the level from the previous year.