WEINHEIM – Sales for Freudenberg in the 2020 financial year, at €8,840.8 million, were significantly below those of €9,467.8 million for the previous year, and profit from operations of just under €670 million dropped from €820 million, but overall, the group believes it managed the crisis well.
For its business groups producing for the automotive, textiles and mechanical engineering sectors, the economic environment was extremely challenging. In contrast, there was considerable demand for products such as those of Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions (FHCS) from the beginning of the crisis and for the first time, it reported sales of more than €1 billion in 2020.
Freudenberg Filtration Technologies (FFT) also benefited from new product and service solutions such as special system checks for Covid-19 and hygiene audits. Demand at Freudenberg Medical also grew.
“These different, and in some cases divergent developments show just how important broad-based positioning is for Freudenberg,” said CEO Dr Mohsen Sohi. “Furthermore, we continued a high level of research and development activities and made good progress with our strategic focus topics of e-mobility, digitalisation and sustainability.”
Spending on research and development was €446.3 million in 2020, representing 5% of turnover.
Freudenberg generates more than a third of its sales with products that are less than four years old and as demand for face masks climbed in 2020, its business groups started to develop various materials to meet demand.
Freudenberg Filtration Technologies began the production of certified medical face masks with a filter efficiency of over 98%, as well as filter media for FFP2 face masks providing high-level protection against viruses. These masks have now been certified by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the USA.
On the sustainability front, Comfortemp Tencel padding was introduced as the first fully biodegradable nonwoven padding made from sustainably produced cellulose fibre that completely degrades in soil within just under 60 days.
Investments
As far as investments are concerned, much of the €287.1 million spent by the group in 2020 was on new nonwovens capacity. Freudenberg Performance Materials installed a spunlaid production line in Taiwan as well as a new production facility for shirt interlinings in Nantong, China. In Germany, a state-of-the-art facility for the production of surgical face masks from meltblown nonwovens was built in Kaiserslautern and one for the processing of nonwoven gas diffusion layers in Weinheim.
Freudenberg Filtration Technologies also continued work on the construction of a new production and office complex for Freudenberg Apollo Filtration Technologies in Shunde, China.
On the acquisitions front, in May last year Freudenberg acquired 100% of the shares of Low & Bonar, a global manufacturer of technical textiles based in London, UK, and completed the integration of the Slovenian Filc Group, a needlepunched nonwovens and laminated materials producer.
For its 2021 financial year, Freudenberg once again expects a generally challenging overall economic environment. Economic growth is expected to recover in 2021 but it will probably take a few years to reach the pre-crisis level, the company believes, and the geopolitical and economic uncertainties faced in 2021 are especially severe. One major uncertainty, of course, is the further development of the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects on the global economy and on the markets of the Freudenberg Group, especially the automotive industry.
Against this backdrop, Freudenberg is planning cautiously, but will continue to invest in long-term projects.
