Based on provisional figures for financial year 2020/21 (April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021) that are yet to be audited, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has far exceeded its own growth predictions in the area of e-mobility. Soaring demand has resulted in sales of over € 20 million – some way above the target of around € 15 million communicated in the autumn of 2020, which was already far higher than the figure of around € 10 million for the previous year. Furthermore, despite increased growth investments, Heidelberg has already achieved a positive margin for its electric vehicle charging stations (wallboxes). Since moving into this segment just three years ago on the basis of the technology expertise and innovation know how available in-house, Heidelberg has increased its market share in German speaking countries to approximately 20%. The company has sold some 45,000 wallboxes to end customers since 2018.
‘With its wallboxes, Heidelberg has taken up a leading position in a market that is enjoying rapid growth. Demand for our products is booming, and we have significantly exceeded our sales targets for financial year 2020/21. Despite the start up nature of the business, we are already in the black. We intend to further increase the value of the group as a whole by rapidly expanding our e-mobility portfolio,’ said Heidelberg CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer.
Heidelberg is expecting this momentum to continue in financial year 2021/22, and industry experts are predicting growth rates exceeding 20%. Accordingly, the company is further expanding its production capacities at Heidelberg headquarters in Wiesloch-Walldorf. Having just commissioned the second production line, the target is to achieve a further doubling of capacity by the end of the year. With wallboxes currently being manufactured around the clock in three shifts, there are also plans to increase the number of staff working in this area from the current level of 100.
Future growth is based on continuously adding to the product portfolio, but also on the planned regional expansion – in Europe to start with and on other continents at some point down the line. The company has also significantly increased the number of sales platforms being used. In addition to highly successful online sales through companies such as Amazon, products have also been available from retail outlets since April, and partnerships with energy suppliers such as E.ON are also having an increasingly positive impact.
As for adding to the product portfolio, the company has just announced the launch of the Heidelberg Combox system for web based control of charging processes.
In view of the planned expansion and the capacity increases referred to, Heidelberg is currently looking into numerous options for future cooperation, expansion, and financing. Spinning off wallbox business to a dedicated limited liability company (GmbH) is therefore the next logical step.
As Rainer Hundsdörfer explained, ‘We are separating our wallbox activities from our core business to ensure they can develop even faster and more flexibly. We are also open to working with strategic partners who offer complementary products. The move into e-mobility and wallboxes has become a real success story for us.’