Wack Group with solid sales growth in the first half-year

According to the recently presented balance sheet of the VCI (Verband der Chemischen Industrie e.V. - German Chemical Industry Association), the chemical-pharmaceutical industry will record enormous declines in turnover in the first half of 2023 - both nationally (minus 15.5%) and internationally (minus 8.5%). A member survey also revealed that almost two-thirds of the companies report profit declines up to losses.

Contrary to this trend, the Ingolstadt-based Wack Group generated a global increase in turnover of 8% in the same period, benefiting from global sales markets.

South Korea, Japan and the USA, in particular, are the three markets that are primarily responsible for the greatest growth. The increase in sales in these countries is driven by the ZESTRON division, which as a manufacturer of cleaning media is the world market and innovation leader in this field. In both South Korea and Japan, active market cultivation and highly innovative water-based process solutions for manufacturers of high-quality electronic components paid off, while in the USA the aviation industry, the e-mobility sector and other strong niche markets were particularly responsible for this positive development.

In contrast to previous years, both the Southeast Asian market and China are currently showing a rather restrained development, which can be attributed to a generally difficult and tense global economic situation. China is currently suffering from a weakened economy and thus lower consumer demand, which mainly affects car sales. The Southeast Asia region is seeing lower growth as global trade sales stagnate.

The European region contributed to the positive overall result with solid double-digit growth. The consumer segment, which is considered one of the leading suppliers and is based in the automotive, motorbike and bicycle care segments, was particularly convincing with its extraordinary business, which is increasingly focused on internationalisation.

"I am very satisfied with the development of the company and the turnover generated. Despite a tense global economic situation and difficult economic conditions, we have managed to generate solid growth. This is the result of a convincing team effort and we are grateful to our employees for their commitment. Nevertheless, looking to the future, I am concerned about the almost rampant bureaucracy in the EU and in Germany in particular. Declarations of conformity and the need to comply with regulations are increasingly slowing down our innovative strength and have a strong negative impact on our location in international competition. Nevertheless, we still believe in Germany as a business location and have set the course for the future with the construction of our new headquarters. At the same time, we are also investing extensively abroad in order to be prepared for the rapidly deteriorating framework conditions in Germany and the EU. For example, we are currently building a new production site in Malaysia and new research and development centres in various parts of Asia," summarises Dr Harald Wack, Managing Partner of the Wack Group.

In Baar-Ebenhausen (Pfaffenhofen district), not far from the previous headquarters, a new building for production and administration is currently being built on 60,000 square metres, which will offer three times as much space for up to 400 employees. Completion and relocation are planned for the first half of next year.