The Leadec Group increased its sales by 11% to 1.24 billion euros and significantly improved its operating result in the 2023 fiscal year. All Leadec regions – Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia – contributed to the positive development with rising sales.
“This result proves that our business model is resilient in times of stagnating or falling economic activity and our diversification strategy is taking effect,” says Markus Glaser-Gallion, CEO of Leadec. “With France, Spain and Portugal, we have significantly increased our regional presence in Europe and are now operating in 16 countries worldwide.”
Successful diversification
Leadec traditionally has a strong footprint in the automotive industry, e.g., in 15 Mercedes-Benz plants in Germany, where new orders were won at the Hamburg and Bremen plants last year. More than 40% of the order volume now comes from customers outside the automotive industry. Multi-technology companies are among the new customers, as are the aerospace industry and consumer goods producers. Leadec is more broadly positioned both regionally and in terms of sectors than it was a few years ago.
Another focus is on parcel and warehousing centers. Leadec handles both on-site maintenance and engineering and automation projects. For example, the service specialist is responsible for technical and infrastructural facility management (TFM and IFM) in 18 Mercado Livre distribution centers in Brazil. The US company Diversified Automation Inc. and the UK company Elmleigh Electrical Systems Limited, which have been part of the Leadec Group since 2020 and 2022, respectively, are successful in this sector with automation solutions.
Focus on future topics
“We offer our customers future-oriented services: from IIoT solutions for production processes to decarbonization and zero waste concepts in the factory,” adds Markus Glaser-Gallion. For example, the range of digital services for the factory has been expanded, the services for battery and cell manufacturers have been extended or special Green Factory Solutions have been implemented.
Integrated facility management has been gaining in importance as a business model. This involves customers pooling their outsourced processes – even across locations – with one outsourcing partner. In 2023, Leadec was awarded a multiyear contract by an international technology company in six European countries, following the successful launch on another continent. The operating model, which was specifically developed for this customer, with centralized processes and uniform standards that apply across all locations, is now being rolled out in Europe.
Growing workforce and a safe working environment
In order to provide the services, a large proportion of Leadec employees work on-site with our customers every day. Due to the increased order volume in the 2023 fiscal year, the workforce increased to over 23,000 people. Occupational safety continues to be a top priority, and the lost time injury rate is an important indicator for this. This figure has been falling steadily for years and reached a record low in 2023 with a rate of 1.1 per million hours worked.
The Leadec Management Board: Markus Hucko, COO, Markus Glaser-Gallion, CEO, and Christian Geißler, CFO