AVL DiTEST looks back on a successful financial year

GRAZ/CADOLZBURG – With revenues of 44.4 million euros, the Graz-based vehicle testing equipment specialist, AVL DiTEST, reported a smaller downturn in 2017 than expected after the rise in sales in the 2016 financial year. Profits rose clearly in some divisions. This successful course looks set to continue in 2018.

After sales of 51 million euros in 2016, revenues for the Graz-based testing equipment specialist, AVL DiTEST, dropped back to 44.4 million euros in 2017; this result was better than had been forecast. "Temporary drops in sales are common in our industry. But our far-sighted planning has allowed us to navigate them well. The foundation for this is our long-term growth strategy," explains Gerald Lackner, CEO of AVL DiTEST, as he looks back over a successful year: "In the electric vehicles sector, we have more than doubled our sales revenue compared to 2016."

In 2018, Lackner expects his company to see a substantial rise in sales to well over 50 million euros. This can be explained both by the growing business areas of electric vehicles, vehicle diagnostics and climate control servicing – in which increased sales are expected – as well as significant orders from major vehicle manufacturers from previous years, which are now turning into sales. Legislative changes concerning regular vehicle emissions testing in Germany are already having positive effects on the sales of emissions measuring instruments. Since January 1, 2018, this change in the law has required mandatory tailpipe emissions testing for all motor vehicles, in addition to the electronic method. This year, AVL DiTEST is expecting increased sales in this field as well.

Investment for the long-term
As a future-oriented company, research and development into new, innovative technologies is of major significance for the testing equipment specialist. "Alternative propulsion methods and e-mobility will increase in importance in the coming years. We have already positioned ourselves as a technological pioneer and are gaining valuable experience in these fields. These are skills that make our company stand out. Our customers benefit from them too," says Gerald Lackner, CEO, discussing the company's future-proof approach. For this reason around 17% of sales revenue will be ploughed back into research and development again this year. Lackner sees potential in the field of test instruments, particularly high-voltage measuring equipment specifically for electric vehicles. New analysis methods, such as an acoustic camera for locating and analysing vehicle noise, are also gaining ground, while new intelligent technologies such as augmented and virtual reality, support increasingly complex workshop processes.

The workshop of the future
"Increasing digitisation is leading to the creation of future-proof business areas that will encourage the further development of modern workshops," says Lackner when asked about the new possibilities for the motor industry. "Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly important, which means that new measuring and diagnostic tools for these vehicles will need to be developed as well." The Graz-based CEO also regards the intensified use of artificial intelligence as an important step towards the digital workshop of the future.

In addition to its headquarters in Graz, AVL DiTEST has a subsidiary company in Cadolzburg, Germany, and one in China. Its customers include independent workshops and testing organisations such as Dekra and TÜV, as well as major international vehicle manufacturers such as BMW, Daimler Group, Jaguar Land Rover, KTM, and the VW, Audi, Porsche, Seat, Skoda, MAN and Scania marques from the Volkswagen Group. In 2017, AVL DiTEST employed 266 people, 129 of whom work at the headquarters in Graz.

 

Picture information: Copyright: AVL DiTEST/Jorj Konstantinov

01_AVL_DiTEST_CEO_Gerald Lackner (Centre): "We view the future with optimism and are looking forward to another successful financial year in 2018." 

Enquiries and image material: AVL DiTEST
Gerald Lackner, CEO of AVL DiTEST GmbH, tel: +43 (0)316 787 592 or e-mail: gerald.lackner@avl.com

External media relations
Putz & Stingl Event, Public Relations & Werbung GmbH, Melanie Wallner,
2340 Mödling, Badstraße 14a, tel: +43 (0)2236 2342411 or e-mail: wallner@putzstingl.at