SSI Schaefer Group records challenging fiscal year 2022

• Macroeconomic developments have a noticeable impact on the intralogistics industry and the Group’s business performance
• Order intake 12.2% below prior year at approx. EUR 1.74 billion
• Sales revenues at EUR 1.81 billion (-5.1%)
• Major projects in largest business unit, Logistics Solutions, postponed until 2023/24
• Total output and revenues in all other business units above previous year
• Research partnerships and recent acquisition of DS Automotion strengthen the Group’s innovative power

The SSI Schaefer Group, a German family-owned company established more than 85 years ago and a leading international solution provider for all segments of the intralogistics industry, reported an order intake of EUR 1.74 billion (-12.2%) for the fiscal year 2022, according to preliminary figures. The decline is mainly due to the fact that major projects in the Group’s largest business unit, Logistics Solutions, were postponed to 2023 and 2024, as several customers recorded low order intake due to the economic impact of the war in Ukraine and increased material prices.

Sales revenues dropped by 5.1% to EUR 1.81 billion, partly due to delayed project acceptance caused by materials shortages. All other business units – Products & Equipment, Customer Services, Waste & Packaging – reported higher revenues than in the previous year.

“The difficult market situation caused by the geopolitical crises and higher material and energy expenses in almost all business segments presented not only our company but also the entire intralogistics industry with major challenges in 2022,” says Steffen Bersch, CEO of the SSI Schaefer Group. “Nevertheless, our transformation process made good progress, especially in the areas of innovation and automation as well as in the strategically more important area of sustainability, where our extensive activities have been documented in the Group’s first Sustainability Report. Our task now is to consistently implement the measures we have initiated in order to continue our success story of the past years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all employees, who have once again showed great commitment last year to make the SSI Schaefer Group fit for the future.”

Creation of an innovation eco-system and progress in expanding the technology leadership

A key focus in the fiscal year 2022 was placed on strengthening the SSI Schaefer Group’s innovation capability. The aim was to play a leading role in shaping the digital and sustainable transformation in order to achieve the goal of technology leadership in the intralogistics sector, as set out in the Group’s strategy. To this end, the Group is building an innovation eco-system of cooperations with research partners such as Fraunhofer IML and various universities as well as with enterprises and start-ups as development partners. The employees play a key role in shaping the future of the SSI Schaefer Group by promoting a culture of innovation and stronger networking within the Group. In this context, the new international and interdisciplinary Data Science Team is an important element, which aims to bundle the Group-wide expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

An important milestone in the expansion of technology leadership is the recently signed agreement for the complete acquisition of DS Automotion GmbH by the SSI Schaefer Group. The full acquisition of DS Automotion, a leading provider of mobile robotics (AGV – Automated Guided Vehicles and AMR – Autonomous Mobile Robots), will take effect on March 1, 2023. It will strengthen the competitiveness and innovative power of the SSI Schaefer Group in robotics and automation, two segments that are pointing the way forward for the intralogistics industry.