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2007 FIN – Würth Group Sets Worldwide Sales Record

July 25, 2007 FIN – Würth Group 2006 worldwide sales rose 12.3% to a record Euro 7.75 billion (US$10.7 billion) and operating results were up 13.2% to Euro 515 million (US$710m).
Würth sales have risen every year in the past decade and have more than doubled since 1998. The number of employees was up 8.2% to 54,906 worldwide at the end of 2006, or double a decade ago. Sales staff grew 5.6% during the year to 29,020. Würth Group counted 2.9 million customers in 2006. Capital expenditures rose from Euro 310 million (US$428m) to Euro 425 million (US$587m).
The Würth advisory board approved a capital expenditure budget of Euro 532 million (US$734m) for 2007. Sales in Würths home country of Germany totaled 40.3% of Würth Group sales.
The 74 German companies in the Würth Group reported sales up 12.3% to Euro 3.12 billion (US$4.3b). Sales outside Germany were up 11.9% to Euro 4.63 billion (US$6.39b). Sales in North and South America totaled Euro 934 million (US$1.29 billion), or 12.1% of total Würth sales.
There were 6,202 employees and 3,330 sales reps. Western Europe accounted for 18.2% of sales; Southern Europe 16.4%; the Americas 12.1%; Scandinavia 5.7%; Eastern Europe 4.4%; and Asia, Africa & Oceania 2.9%.
Würth Succession
Bettina Würth, who succeeded her father, Reinhold Würth, as advisory board chair during the year, declared in her first annual report as chair that the Group “succeeded in growing in all markets that it operates in.”
“A generation change often brings family-run businesses to the brink of ruin because the handover of the business did not start soon enough or with a clear line,” Bettina Würth wrote. “Not in our case. My father not only handed over the chair of the advisory board to me on March 1, 2006, after careful preparation, but in his foresighted manner already withdrew from the operating business of the central managing board back in 1994.”
Reinhold Würth became honorary chair, plus he remains chair of the supervisory board of Würth Group Family Trusts. At age 19 he had taken over the two-person screw wholesale company in Künzelsau in 1954 when his father, Adolph Würth, died.
Alma Würth, who co-founded Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. in 1945, died in May 2006.
Also during 2006, Würth Group signed an agreement to establish the Würth Industrial Park in the northern China city of Shenyang.
With the addition of a Würth sales company in Mongolia, Würth Group is represented by 370 companies in 83 nations. There were 351 Würth companies at the end of 2005. Web: wuerth.com

Würth North American Sales $1.3 Billion
“Our companies on the American continents showed their mettle in 2006,” with sales rising 16.9% to Euro 934 million (US$1.29 billion), Würth’s annual report stated. “Following a phase of focused growth by means of acquisitions in the period from the mid-1990s to the end of that decade, the current decade has been characterized by a phase of structuring and consolidation of operations in the USA. As a result, our U.S. entities generated their highest results in 2006 since joining the Würth Group.”
North America “will remain a key focus for Würth. In the past year Würth acquired McFadden’s Hardwood & Hardware Inc., a Canadian wood sector trading company and the Würth Red Label was incorporated, representing the metal division “to enhance the market presence and create a broader base for further profitable growth.”
With a 50% growth rate, South America “takes the lead in the Würth Group.” The growth was boosted by Würth’s first acquisitions of companies in Brazil.
There are 6,202 employees in the two Americas, including 3,330 sales representatives. Würth Brazil alone has a sales force of 1,300, making it one of the top Würth companies. Web: wuerth.com and wurthindustry.com ©2007/2013 Fastener Industry News
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