smartcaps editorial team Frankfurt am Main
Plastics and fuel cell specialist starts current fiscal year with jump in sales and profits
Skepticism dominates the mood among German SMEs. "If politicians do not bring themselves to make sweeping improvements to locations, there will be an even more rapid relocation of jobs abroad," predicts the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mittelstand (SME working group), which comprises seven business associations. Member companies are more skeptical about their business situation than they were last summer, but see light at the end of the tunnel. "The upswing remains a hopeful one," says the working group, "business expectations have brightened." Those who successfully occupy niches and come up with innovative products are benefiting from the improving global economy.
Masterflex continues to grow in the first quarter
At Gelsenkirchen-based Masterflex AG, there is therefore no trace of skepticism; instead, optimism in its purest form is the order of the day. "We are still on a rapid growth course," emphasized CEO Detlef Herzog when announcing the figures for the first quarter of the current 2004 fiscal year. After the 2003 fiscal year had already turned out much better than expected (see also smartcaps report of April 28, 2004: Masterflex AG - Company in the fast lane), the Gelsenkirchen-based company is continuing this trend in the current fiscal year.