Top 20 systems suppliers
Modern's annual ranking of the largest materials handling systems suppliers shows 2006 was a strong year.
By Corinne Kator, Associate Editor -- Modern Materials Handling, 3/1/2007
The materials handling equipment industry grew at a healthy rate in 2006, and that growth is reflected in the revenues of the world’s largest materials handling systems suppliers. When Modern ranked the top 20 systems suppliers a year ago, only eight companies posted year-over-year revenue increases. This time around, 16 of the listed companies experienced revenue gains, with 10 of them posting double-digit growth.
Among those fast-growing companies is Schaefer Holding International, which grew nearly 20% and took the No. 1 spot on our list for the first time this year.
The top 20 companies made a combined total of $11.7 billion in materials handling sales in 2006. While that total is actually lower than it was in our last report, the reduction is the result of a shakeup at Siemens (now listed as Dematic with a smaller portfolio and $2 billion less revenue) and not the result of a softening market. Excluding Siemens/Dematic, revenue among the top companies for 2006 was up 9%.
Siemens Logistics and Assembly Systems topped last year’s ranking with $3 billion in revenue. That division was restructured in 2006 with Siemens keeping its assembly, postal and baggage handling units but spinning off the rest of its materials handling business. Triton, a private European investment company, bought the materials handling business from Siemens last summer.
That business became a private company known as Dematic, which reported $1 billion in revenue for 2006, placing it at No. 4 on our list. Siemens was dropped from the rankings, as it no longer has a division with materials handling as its core business.
Swisslog Holding, ranked No. 8 last year, was dropped from the rankings for similar reasons. Swisslog began divesting its materials handling equipment divisions in 2003 and is now primarily a systems integrator and software provider.
Australia’s Brambles Group, No. 16 on last year’s list, has been replaced by Illinois-based United Fixtures/Interlake (UFI). The Brambles Group divested Interlake Materials Handling in 2006, and Interlake then merged with United Fixtures to form UFI, which is listed at No. 17 this year.
Mecalux (No. 5) has announced plans to acquire UFI but can’t exercise that option until mid-2008.
Just as divestitures were responsible for the exits of Siemens and Swisslog, an acquisition was responsible for the entrance of the only newcomer to this year’s list, TGW Transportgerate of Austria. TGW entered the North American market in 2005 when it purchased Michigan-based Ermanco. The company reported revenue to Modern for the first time this year.
The minimum revenue for making the list increased from $135 million to $157 million—the highest our entry-level figure has ever been.
Making the list
To be eligible for Modern’s ranking, companies must have a presence in North America and must be suppliers of materials handling systems, manufacturing at least two major handling system components. The companies must also employ full-time staffs that design, install, integrate and implement systems that include two or more equipment types. These equipment types include transportation devices, storage and staging equipment, picking units, sortation systems, data capture technologies, software and controls.
Rankings are based on worldwide revenues from materials handling systems contracts during each company’s 2006 fiscal year. Because of variances in the fiscal years of the top 20 companies, some of the 2006 sales figures are estimated.
Taking a closer look
European companies continue to dominate our top 20 list. Fourteen of the top systems suppliers have headquarters in Europe, while four of the top companies are based in the United States and two in Japan.
Japan’s Daifuku is the only non-European company among this year’s top five systems suppliers. Barcelona-based Mecalux is among the top five for the first time this year thanks to a 35% revenue gain that moved the company from No. 7 to No. 5.
Two other companies posting impressive gains are Holland-based Vanderlande Industries and London-based Tomkins.
Vanderlande reported revenue growth of 43%, gains that raised the company from No. 10 to No. 6. Vanderlande’s business grew across the board, according to spokesman Frans van Duren.
“The company showed growth in all segments and geographical areas in which it is active,” he says. “Major parts of the growth are the result of a substantial growth in Europe and from countries like Russia, Turkey and Canada.”
Tomkins reported a 53% revenue increase, lifting it from No. 20 to No. 16. Tomkins’s primary materials handling division is Dearborn Mid-West Conveyor, which has headquarters in the United States. Spokesman Jack Allor says strong sales in the energy sector accounted for much of the company’s growth.
The Materials Handling Industry of America has projected 6.5 to 8% growth for the U.S. materials handling equipment market in 2007, and the Freedonia Group projects similar numbers for automated materials handling equipment sales worldwide. These projections bode well for our top 20 companies, and Modern plans to report on their progress again next year.
Top 20 materials handling systems suppliers
| Rank | Company | Rank last year | Worldwide 2006 revenue (US$) | Headquarters | U.S. business units |
| * listed last year as Siemens Logistics and Assembly Systems **listed last year as The Brambles Group; revenue figure is an industry estimate ***After publication, Knapp submitted updated sales figures reporting $265 million, moving the company up to No. 11 on the list. |
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| 1 | Schaefer Holding Intl, GmbH | 3 | $1.986 billion | Neunkirchen, Germany | Schaefer Systems International – Charlotte, N.C. |
| 2 | Daifuku Co. Ltd. | 2 | $1.95 billion | Osaka, Japan | Daifuku America Corp. – Columbus, Ohio; Salt Lake City, Utah |
| 3 | FKI plc | 4 | $1.4 billion | Loughborough, UK | FKI Logistex – St. Louis, Mo. |
| 4 | Dematic GmbH | 1* | $1 billion | Offenbach, Germany | Dematic Corp. – Grand Rapids, Mich. |
| 5 | Mecalux | 7 | $686 million | Barcelona, Spain | Mecalux USA – Melrose Park, Ill. |
| 6 | Columbus McKinnon Corp | 6 | $575 million | Amherst, N.Y. | Gaffey, Inc. – Marrietta, Ga.American Lifts – Greensburg, Ind.Lift-Tech Intl. – Muskegon, Mich.Positech Corp. – Laurens, IowaAbell-Howe Crane, Inc. – Bolingbrook, Ill.Clester Hoist – Lisbon, OhioCoffing Hoists – Charlotte, N.C.Duff-Norton Company – Charlotte, N.C.Washington Equipment Co. – Eureka, Ill.Dixie Industries – Chattanooga, Tenn.Midland Forge – Cedar Rapids, Iowa |
| 6 | Vanderlande Industries | 10 | $575 million | Veghel, Netherlands | VanderlandeIndustries – Marietta, Ga. |
| 8 | Kardex AG | 5 | $570 million | Zurich, Switzerland | Remstar International – Westbrook, Maine |
| 9 | Murata Machinery Ltd. | 9 | $524 million | Kyoto, Japan | Murata Machinery USA – Charlotte, N.C.; Salt Lake City, Utah |
| 10 | Eisenmann GmbH | 11 | $300 million | Boblingen, Germany | Eisenmann Corp. – Crystal Lake, Ill. |
| 11 | Witron Logistik + Informatik GmbH | 12 | $260 million | Parkstein, Germany | Witron Integrated Logistics Corp. – Arlington Heights, Ill. |
| 12 | H.K. Systems, Inc. | 13 | $250 million | Milwaukee, Wis. | Material Handling and Logistic Software Systems – Milwaukee, Wis.; Salt Lake City, Utah RFID Test Loop and Unit Handling Systems – Hebron, Ky. RFID Integration Lab – Milwaukee, Wis. |
| 12 | TGW Transportgerate GmbH | N/R | $250 million | Wels, Austria | TGW-Ermanco – Spring Lake, Mich. |
| 14 | Knapp Logistik Automation GmbH | 14 | $245 million*** | Graz, Austria | Knapp Logistics & Automation – Kennesaw, Ga. |
| 15 | Jervis B. Webb Co. | 15 | $220 million | Farmington Hills, Mich. | Jervis B. Webb. Co. – Farmington Hills, Mich. |
| 16 | Tomkins Industries | 20 | $206 million | London, UK | Dearborn Mid-West Conveyor Co.– Taylor, Mich.; Fairway, Kan.; Greenville, S.C. |
| 17 | United Fixtures/Interlake | 16** | $200 million | Naperville, Ill. | Interlake Material Handling – Naperville, Ill.J&D Associates – Middletown, Pa. |
| 18 | Beumer Maschinenfabrik GmbH | 17 | $195 million | Beckum, Germany | Beumer Corp. – Branchburg, N.J. |
| 19 | FlexLink AB | 17 | $173 million | Gothenburg, Sweden | FlexLink Systems, Inc. – Allentown, Pa. |
| 20 | Sandvik Sorting Systems AB | 19 | $157 million | Sandviken, Sweden | Sandvik Sorting Systems – Louisville, Ky. |
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