Course set for long-term growth

WEBER-HYDRAULIK shows innovative strength:

Güglingen, April 19            In view of more difficult general conditions such as supply bottlenecks, increased energy costs and a shortage of skilled workers, WEBER-HYDRAULIK looks back with satisfaction on the past financial year. In 2023, the focus will be on the further expansion of electronics and systems expertise.

The company is currently running at record capacity at its plant in Güglingen, as the order books are full to bursting. “Thanks to the great dedication of our employees, we always managed to find innovative system solutions for our customers last year,” says Christine Grotz, managing partner at WEBER-HYDRAULIK. “As a hydraulics manufacturer today, we must have in-depth expertise in a wide range of areas,” says Grotz. This starts with sensor technology and electrification and extends to software, functional safety and cybersecurity. These are all technologies in which WEBER-HYDRAULIK has invested and expanded expertise, such as with its own competence center for Functional Safety and Cyber Security or innovations like the app-based SMART-FORCE battery-powered tool series in the rescue equipment market. At the same time, the company developed a new mission statement last year, in which the orientation and the most important fields of action were developed and defined together with the workforce.

“We have set the course technologically and culturally for further growth and will specifically expand our electronics, software and systems expertise,” says Christine Grotz. The networking of components, machines and products as well as the evaluation and processing of data will become much more important, both with a view to increasingly virtual product development and in production and operations. Against this background, the entire industry is facing a major transformation in which the power to innovate will determine the long-term success of the company.

Shortage of skilled workers: companies and policymakers needed

One of the biggest challenges is attracting and retaining accomplished skilled workers. “For us and the entire industry, it’s a matter of using a modern image to get young people excited about hydraulics,” says Grotz. When it comes to ensuring the necessary framework conditions for this, the managing director also sees politics as having a duty: “Instead of increasingly burdening companies with redistribution projects and bureaucracy, more investment spending is needed, for example with regard to support for training and further education or improved infrastructure in rural areas.” Particularly when it comes to energy policy, competitive framework conditions are crucial for medium-sized companies with a long-term focus, so that they can continue to fulfill their social responsibility in the future.

Picture: Christine Grotz, granddaughter of the company founder and managing director of WEBER-HYDRAULIK
Image source: WEBER-HYDRAULIK GMBH