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Record Breaking Year 2007 for Sensor Industry
“2006 was a considerably good year for the sensor industry. But 2007 definitely exceeded the results ever made in our January survey before.” Johannes W. Steinebach, treasurer for the AMA Association for Sensor Technology happily announced at the association’s annual press conference. But then put in perspective: “However, it was not quite as exceptional as the business news might have led one expect.”
In fact, the number of employees in the German sensor industry rose by about 13,000, corresponding to a growth rate of 6.2%. As in most previous years, this growth was achieved mainly by small companies in 2007. For instance, sensor companies with less than 50 employees grew by more than 6.8%. “And we anticipate this growth to continue”, Steinebach continues, “because 83% of employers intend to hire more personnel - they expect to increase staff size by an average of 5.1%, while 14% of employers expect to maintain their present staff size. Ony about 1% of companies plans to reduce their workforce.”
Another key economic indicator is revenue development, which presents a very similar picture. The sensor industry grew by nearly 11%, estimated more than 2 billion Euro. Nonetheless, with nearly 13% revenue growth, 2004 remains unsurpassed. In contrast to employement, revenue growth was distributed evenly among all companies, regardless of size. Steinebach: “This means that the smaller companies achieved their growth with the help of additional personnel, whereas the larger companies grew through increased productivity.” Now, one might expect that larger companies realized their productivity increase through an increased invest. And in fact, the AMA survey shows an increase in investment by about 9.5%, where larger companies indeed invested more heavily than small companies. Nevertheless, there were groups of larger firms, e.g. the group with 100 – 250 employees, that were obviously able grow by activating productivity reserves.
“Over all, 2007 was surely an exceptional year in all three categories, revenue, workforce, and invest, “ the AMA treasurer summarizes, “let us hope economic conditions stay favorable. At any rate, our members anticipate further growth for 2008.”
