FACKELMANN and the future

FACKELMANN GmbH + Co. KG from Hersbruck near Nuremberg can look back on 2011 as yet another year of growth. The turnover of the FACKELMANN Company Group, with a total of 34 branches and production sites worldwide, rose in 2011 to €301 million. This amounts to a growth of 4 percent.

A glance at the development across the continents and different countries in some cases reveals a very varied picture. In China and India, with their enormous populations, the company continues to expand. In these countries, massive increases of 40 % (India; domestic and export) and 25 % (Chinese domestic market) were recorded. These markets are and will continue to be a cornerstone of future growth for FACKELMANN.

In Europe, too, sales efforts in countries like England, France (+ 19 %) and Ukraine (+ 20 %) returned noteworthy levels of performance. In England in particular, the long-term investments in staff and market development have started to pay off, with the welcome result of a growth rate of 25 % brought about by new customer acquisitions. In Germany, sales remained static at the level of the previous year; in some Eastern European states, due to a reduction by some major customers of special promotions in the non-food field, the figures fell just short of those of 2010.

“We are working hard and with determination on many fronts,” managing partner Alexander Fackelmann stresses. In the year just gone, 2011, a conscious decision was made in the future to prioritise potential markets. “As a family business we always think long-term and have our eyes firmly on the continuous development of our business to secure the future prosperity of the firm.”

The growth of the FACKELMANN bathroom furniture division was somewhat hampered by the conscious decision to draw back from discounting campaigns, although, happily, the shortfall was very nearly made good by the outstanding sales performance of Lanzet, the specialist bathroom furniture brand. ZENKER Backformen (Aichach) once again contributed some €30 million to the overall turnover.

The new logistics centre at the company’s headquarters in Hersbruck, which officially commenced operations in May and is the result of an investment volume of some €6 million, has proved its worth in the best possible way. Links to existing warehousing and despatch modules have since brought about significant progress in efficiency and processing speed. “We believe passionately in the ‘Made in Germany’ label,” says Alexander Fackelmann, underlining the company’s commitment to this investment as well.