Phoenix Contact investerer for fremtiden

Phoenix Contact plans most extensive investment program in company history

(March 31, 2023) At a press conference, CEO Frank Stührenberg talked about the highest growth in the company’s 100-year history and announced the extent of the new investment program.

Despite the continuing tense situation in the raw materials and energy markets, Phoenix Contact recorded revenue growth of 21 percent and completed fiscal year 2022 with total revenues of 3.6 billion euros. “In 2021 and 2022, we were able to record a growth of more than 1 billion euros. We are aware that this record-breaking growth is a catch-up effect from the first year of the pandemic and lockdown. But beyond that, it shows the strength of a business model that is aligned with electrification, networking, and automation. We reacted to this growth for more than the short term. The Phoenix Contact Group hired 4,000 people and during the crisis period, invested over 500 million euros in our capacity,” said Stührenberg to explain the company’s decisions. The CEO expects the company’s growth to consolidate in 2023. “We have already seen that our incoming orders are lessening. However, we carried over almost 1 billion euros worth of orders into 2023. We anticipate growth in the mid-single-digit range.”

Investments

Phoenix Contact also made significant investments in 2022. In total, the company invested around 250 million euros in buildings, machines, and tools. One focus of our investment was the further development of the location in Blomberg. On a 7,590 m² site, a new entrance is currently being built along the access road to company headquarters. The traffic circle at the location in Blomberg will become the new gateway to Phoenix Contact. It is connected to a new park in which the future vision of the All Electric Society (AES) will be made accessible and explained concisely to everyone.

For 2023, the company has planned to invest around 325 million euros worldwide. The first measures for the extension to the existing logistics building at the Blomberg location have already been launched. The fully automated building will provide 220,000 m² of additional storage volume. At the location in India, three new buildings with production, logistics, and office spaces, with a footprint of 70,000 m², are being built. And at Phoenix Contact E-Mobility, all signs point toward above-average growth as well. With more than 1,000 employees and 25 production lines worldwide, the company’s sales increase in 2022 over the previous year was more than 50 percent. Sales growth in the Chinese and US markets in particular made a contribution to the increase. For this reason we will establish a center of competence for e-mobility in China.

“Full-coverage electrification of the world will continue to be a major trend. Our business model is aligned with this trend. We are therefore expecting medium- to long-term growth and are preparing for it now. We have planned for an investment program of 2 billion euros over the coming five years,” explained Stührenberg.

Hannover Messe

In the 100th year of Phoenix Contact, the family-run company will exhibit products that drive the electrification of society forward. This is the basic prerequisite for the All Electric Society, a vision of the future in which affordable energy from renewable sources is available to everyone. The products include the new High Power Charging (HPC) charging cable for e-mobility, which functions without cooling, and smart power supplies that ensure an uninterruptible supply.

To install the digital power grid of the future, around 16 million kilometers of new cables and approximately 5.5 million control cabinets must be installed worldwide by 2030. This is why efficiency in control cabinet building from the engineering software to terminal blocks with automated wiring will be our main theme. Further, Phoenix Contact is exhibiting products that accelerate the digitalization and networking of the world – from connection technology for energy storage systems to intelligent controllers in building and factory automation.

Sustainability

For its 100th anniversary, Phoenix Contact is showing sustainability in various dimensions. The company has initiated sustainability projects worldwide and planned campaigns for sustainability in Germany. In addition, Phoenix Contact is hosting a lecture by Arved Fuchs, “Ocean Change – eine Welt im Wandel (a world in transition),” which will take place on April 24 at 6:00 p.m. in the Phoenix Contact Training Center in Schieder. The goal of the event is to offer an environment for exchange, in the sense of a forum for the future. Admission is free, but registration is necessary to participate in Schieder or online.