Kistler Group Remains on Growth Path with Sales of 235 Million Swiss Francs, Continuing Healthy Order Book and Acquisition of Another Company

The continuing boom in the automobile industry has also been very beneficial for the Winterthur Kistler Group. With 235 million francs, the company managed to achieve the best result in its 52-year history in 2011. CEO Rolf Sonderegger: "The drag on sales and profits of the strong Swiss franc is the only blemish on the balance sheet. However, the good overall performance under challenging conditions demonstrates Kistler's strong strategic position in the global market and the operational strength of the group as a whole".

The high number of new orders had already led the Kistler Group to start expanding production capacities selectively in 2011. This created 85 new jobs across the group in the past year. As a further offset against the strength of the Swiss franc, in the greater Stuttgart area a new factory is also being built for inauguration in fall 2012.

The Winterthur site is also profiting from the positive development of the Kistler Group. A total of 40 new full-time positions were created in 2011. In addition, over 10 million Swiss francs are being invested in Winterthur in new infrastructures and facilities to boost production capacities.

Recent years have seen Kistler develop from a sensor specialist into a supplier of complete systems. The commercial success of the group appears to confirm the correctness of this strategy. As system provider and development partner, proximity to the customer is absolutely essential. Occupation of the Kistler Technology Center in Detroit is a major step in this direction. The Technology Center in Shanghai is also being officially opened this spring. These developments will allow further expansion of the range of services and provision of more custom systems.

On 1 January 2012 the Kistler Group also took over the business operations of Baewert Präzisionsmechanik GmbH based in Meerane in the German state of Saxony. With 15 employees, Baewert produces piezoelectric pressure sensors for monitoring large engines, as well as safety valves and mechanical indicators. The company was originally established in 1946 as Metallwerker GmbH, and had already been a customer of the Kistler Group for many years. On the new site future production will focus on sensors and systems for large diesel engines.

The Kistler Group is cautiously optimistic about 2012. CEO Rolf Sonderegger: "The market is admittedly volatile and the currency turbulence far from over. However, sound financing and strong positioning in growing markets enable the Kistler Group to fully concentrate on the operational challenges, even in difficult times".