SMC’s success continues following investment in R&D and recruitment

SMC, the worldwide leading expert in pneumatics, has recorded another year of growth across its global network, reporting total operating income of €1,187.81 million and net sales of €4,140.72 million [€633.9 million for Europe], an uplift of 3%.

This is the third continued year of growth for SMC, which has bases in 33 European countries, as the company continues to focus on investing in its people, product development and global production facilities.

Over the last 12 months the Japanese company has created an additional 800 jobs, bring its total workforce to more than 19,000 of which 8,000 are sales engineers, guaranteeing the company delivers a responsive and reliable service to its customers.

SMC has also continued to reinforce its global production and supply network, with further expansion of its Yamatsuri factory in Japan, guaranteeing the company can respond quickly and with increased flexibility to meet local market requirements.

With an increased workforce and production capacity, SMC will look to grow sales globally by 5% by focusing on innovation and its capability to deliver quality products that meet customers’ demands for automated, energy efficient and labour-saving operations.

As part of its commitment to innovation, the company invested €160.8 million in Research & Development, an increase of 4% and is forecast to invest a further 5% during the new financial year.

SMC’s reputation for delivering high quality and best value components on time has led to customer loyalty, many of whom have worked with the company over many years.

Looking forward, as the world’s leading suppliers of pneumatics, SMC will continue to be nimble and respond to change by focusing on investment in its infrastructure and people.

European Financials
• Net Sales €633.9 million
• Operating Income €56.4 million

Global Financials
• Net Sales €4,140.72 million
• Operating Income €1,187.81 million

Foreign currency exchange rate applied: 1 Euro – ¥ 118.79 (average rate FY 16 – As per in Consolidated Financial figures published by the Corporation, May 16, 2017.

About SMC –
SMC is the worldwide leading expert in pneumatics. With 12,000 basic products and over 700,000 variations, SMC’s portfolio includes multiple industrial automation solutions that cover all automation industries.

With headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, SMC Corporation now counts with 400 sales offices in 81 countries, major factories in 33 key locations worldwide and a sales force of 8,000 engineers, this guarantees that SMC is always close to its customers.
Furthermore, SMC´s 1,450 R&D engineers, located in Japan, China, USA and Europe, are dedicated to product development and product customizations to adapt to the specificities to each application.

For more information visit SMC at www.smc.eu.

1.5.2017