Press release
dataTec takes stock of the 2023/2024 fiscal year and presents growth strategies.
At the press conference to mark the end of the 2023/2024 fiscal year, dataTec’s Management Board looked back on a challenging time for the company. Following the record results of the past two fiscal years, in which an overall increase of 80% was achieved, the Swabian family-owned company recorded incoming orders of around EUR 75 million in 2023/2024, almost EUR 10 million less than in 2022/2023. "Thanks to the very good result from the previous year and a high order backlog, we were still able to close the past fiscal year with a solid positive operating result," explained Markus Kohler, Member of the Board at dataTec.
Business development in Europe showed a very mixed picture. Founder Hans Steiner, who returned to the Management Board from the Supervisory Board in 2023, reported on the figures. The number of orders of the Swedish testing house dataTec AB fell by 37 percent to EUR 8.19 million, and sales at Reutlingen-based dataTec AG declined by 17 percent to EUR 70.17 million. On the other hand, there was significant growth in Spain, where AyscomdataTec S.E. increased its incoming orders by 30 percent to EUR 6.9 million, and dataTec Schweiz AG recorded growth of 52 percent to CHF 5.46 million.
Consolidation and investments in focus
dataTec believes that the main reason for the decline in incoming orders is a reluctance to invest due to the difficult political and global economic situation. "However, the challenges of the past year have not prevented us from using the time to consolidate and make further investments in the location here in Germany and in our European subsidiaries," emphasized Markus Kohler. A clear focus to ensure future viability would continue to rest on optimizing processes and pooling resources. Markus Kohler is convinced: "Our expertise will be even more in demand in the future due to the increasing requirements for test and measurement technology, and outstanding investments will be made up for by our customers from industry, research and development, as well as local authorities and universities."
New Chief Financial Officer
In order to be able to react efficiently and agilely to changing market requirements, dataTec AG intends to further strengthen its foundations and optimally position itself in terms of personnel. A key step on this path is the expansion of the Management Board, to which Uwe Scheihing has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer. With his expertise, the company's expansion and growth trajectory will be driven forward. In order to attract and retain qualified employees in times of a skilled worker shortage, dataTec also relies on measures to increase its attractiveness as an employer, such as the "Work-Home Balance" campaign. In recent years, the dataTec team has continued to grow thanks to successful recruitment—even in the region—and now has 156 employees, an increase of 18 percent on the previous year.
Continuation of a strong presence at trade fairs
The test and measurement technology experts also successfully presented their comprehensive portfolio at the relevant trade fairs and events in 2023/2024, strengthening their position on the market and their ties with customers and partners. "Proximity and personal contact are essential for our consulting-intensive services, which is why we continue to rely on a strong trade fair presence," says Roland Bertler, Marketing Director and Head of the dataTec Academy.
dataTec Academy generates record sales
There was also a strong demand for events, seminars, and workshops at the dataTec Academy in the past fiscal year. With around 100 different information and training offerings, dataTec generated a record turnover of nearly EUR 1 million, an increase of 70 percent compared to the same period last year. The training courses were further enhanced by dataTec's qualification as the exclusive training partner of National Instruments (NI) in Germany.
The fact that dataTec AG is starting the new fiscal year on a positive note is also demonstrated by the company's virtual presence, which has been raised to a new level. The website and online store have been relaunched and made much more user-friendly. dataTec experts share their knowledge in the new wiki area. For example, the "100 questions and 100 answers" section on test and measurement technology was established with the plan to continuously expand it. Just one building block that shows that dataTec is equipped for the future.