In line with its earlier forecast, the Picanol Group realized a consolidated turnover of 116.72 million euros in the third quarter of 2012, representing an increase in turnover of 19 per cent compared to 97.88 million euros in the same period in 2011.
As was the case in the previous quarter, demand for new Picanol weaving machines remained very high during the third quarter of 2012.
This is due to, amongst others, the success of these machines and the favorable exchange rate of the euro. The group is also forced to focus heavily on flexibility in order to handle production peaks.
In the third quarter of 2012, the group’s Industries Division witnessed a slight increase in activities compared to the same period in 2011, due to the growing demand for weaving machines and projects for external customers.
In the third quarter, the Picanol Group completed recruitment of 50 additional temporary workers for the production site in Ypres. To date, more than 125 employees have already been hired in Ypres. To handle the current production peaks, the group continues looking for additional technicians and logistics personnel. In addition, it also has vacancies for technical profiles such as R&D engineers, CNC operators, field technicians and IT staff.
Serving the customer worldwide
In recent months, the Picanol Group has invested in the further expansion of its international network. In early August, the new Indian headquarters in New Delhi was inaugurated in the presence of H.E. Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs of Belgium.
Meanwhile, in the US, Picanol of America will move to a new location in Greenville (South Carolina) at the end of this year. At the production site of Suzhou in China, a new warehouse is being built for weaving machines, which will start functioning at the end of 2012.
The weaving machine order book for the coming months is indeed full. However, the forecasts for industries are less clear due to the increasing economic and financial uncertainty. Based on the current order book, the Picanol Group expects to realize for the full financial year 2012 a turnover in line with that achieved in 2011.