Mikron Automation

In the Mikron Automation business segment, demand from its most important sales market, the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries, remained high at all times during the year under review. Following successful fiscal years in 2021 and 2022, the business segment succeeded in further improving its profitability. Mikron Automation’s high order intake was characterized by multiple orders from market-leading pharmaceutical companies. Overall, capacity utilization was very good throughout the course of the year. In Asia, business was not as dynamic as in the previous year. However, Mikron Automation again achieved a good profitability level in Asia.

Key figures for Mikron Automation
At CHF 231.2 million, the Mikron Automation business segment exceeded the net sales for the 2022 financial year (CHF 183.8 million) by 25.8%. At CHF 276.1 million, Mikron Automation’s order intake again reached a high level and outperformed the previous year’s figure of CHF 239.0 million by 16%. The resulting order backlog of CHF 205.1 million at the end of 2023 was 21.5% higher than that at the end of 2022 (CHF 168.8 million). Mikron Automation posted EBIT of CHF 22.0 million (2022: CHF 17.5  million) and an EBIT margin of 9.5% (2022: 9.5%). 53% of Mikron Automation’s sales came from Europe (2022: 39% including Switzerland), 32% from North America (2022: 41%) and 12% from Asia (2022: 19%). The business segment again significantly strengthened its market position in the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries.
90% of sales came from this area in 2023 (2022: 91%).

Innovations and continuous improvements
In 2023, the Mikron Automation business segment systematically pursued a number of product development projects. After the expanded assembly hall in Boudry went into full operation in 2022, Mikron Automation rented additional space in Denver in the year under review, while the next expansion phase in Boudry is under evaluation. In Shanghai, Mikron Automation moved into new, larger premises. The new rented site offers more assembly space for customer projects and an innovative working environment in the office area. The state-of-the-art environment for customers and employees represents an important milestone in Mikron Automation’s Asia strategy.

The MAIA assembly cell, which was launched onto the market a year previously, met with great interest and good sales from customers of the Mikron  Automation division in the reporting period. It is ideal for clinical trials and small production volumes. With MAIA, Mikron customers can validate their processes easily, efficiently, and cost-effectively for the next scale-up phases.