STAHL fully booked as boom continues

He said there has been a substantial increase in orders and sales, with wire rope hoist production increasing over one third on last year. He added: "There is stronger demand from German industry compared to the previous year and high demand from international customers." Brandes expects this to continue for the next eight to 12 months.

Most of the business is coming from the German manufacturing industry with the automotive and chemical markets leading the way. Demand is also high from international crane builders and turnkey systems suppliers.

"In the past three years," Brandes said, "we have shifted our focus on heavier applications, including engineered cranes and hoists, and we see growth coming mainly from these products."

German business accounts for approximately 45% of its orders, while the remainder is exported. But, approximately 30% of sales to German customers is engineering companies who will eventually export the equipment to foreign destinations.

Export business is getting more important, said Brandes. This, he said, is due to the business coming from emerging markets. He added: "Export quota of some products is already as high as 80% or more."

STAHL said it has strengthened its position in emerging markets like Russia and Eastern Europe. Asian markets like India and China have become more important - in addition to those markets STAHL said it has "already developed" such as Korea and South East Asia.