Despite fluctuations with many of its customers, the WILD Group succeeded in maintaining sales during the preceding business year and started the new year 2017 with all-time record orders.

With a total turnover of EUR 88.3 million, the WILD Group largely maintained the level of the preceding year (EUR 94.4 million). Around EUR 81 million thereof was generated at the Carinthia sites WILD GmbH and WILD Electronics. Taking into account the significant fluctuations with almost all customers, the management is quite satisfied with these results. The fact that WILD reached record order levels of EUR 87.7 million in late 2016 is particularly reassuring. According to CEO Dr. Josef Hackl and WILD Group CFO Dr. Michael Wratschko “significant orders were placed in virtually all business divisions and all sites have contributed to this positive trend with a healthy mixture of new and existing customers”.

The medical technology division was the group’s main engine of sales, generating EUR 60.81 million during the 2016 business year. WILD succeeded in acquiring prominent new customers from the pharmaceutical industry and further expanded business with existing customers. Especially products in the area of surgery optics and assemblies for high-speed lasers proved real best-sellers. The optical technology division generated sales of EUR 20.24 million in the previous business year. A total of EUR 1.8 million was invested in Carinthia, for instance in high-precision facilities and cleaning systems.[nbsp]

Positive results from Photonic and WILD Technologies

The sites outside Carinthia have shown an equally positive trend. Vienna-based Photonic attracted new customers both in its core lighting business and in microscopy. Numerous new products such as an optic fibre LED light source with a stroboscope function were successfully launched on to the market. WILD Technologies in Trnava/Slovakia has significantly intensified its cooperation with audio specialist AKG. “We have evolved to a strategic partner of AKG and, in addition to manufacturing, we are now also taking over responsibility in several projects for process improvements, materials scheduling and final tests”, Hackl explains.

Plans and investments for 2017

The WILD Group is planning investments of around EUR 3 million for the current business year. At the Völkermarkt site alone, WILD is investing EUR 750,000 in the expansion of the cleanroom and the precision cleaning facilities. An additional EUR[nbsp]600,000 was earmarked for two new machines. In total, the management plans to reach Group sales of EUR 97.4 million in 2017, returning to a healthier growth rate than in the two previous years.