KÄRCHER STAYS ON COURSE AND INCREASES ITS REVENUE IN 2023
New record despite tougher market conditions
Kärcher achieved a turnover of 3.294 billion euros in 2023 and thus grew by 4.2 per cent compared to the previous year – excluding currency effects by as much as 8.2 per cent. The family-owned company with its headquarters in Winnenden (Germany) now generates 86 per cent of its turnover abroad and has continued to invest in the development of new markets and proximity to its local customers in the past year with the establishment of new companies in Uzbekistan and Vietnam, among others. The Kärcher Group now comprises more than 160 companies in 82 countries and employs 16,000 people worldwide – 670 more than in the previous year.
"We achieved our targets for the past year, gained further market shares and set a new sales record. The fact that we have managed to stay on course under the tougher market conditions is not an easy task and we are very pleased."
Hartmut Jenner, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Management
Remarkable business performance
The company clearly felt the effects of the many global crises and high inflation in 2023 in the form of a tense order situation and increased costs for materials, freight and storage. Kärcher's business performance was also exceptional: Sales in the commercial sector were initially strong, while sales in the consumer business started weaker, a situation which then completely reversed over the course of the year. Private customers and professional users contribute roughly the same amount to the cleaning specialist's turnover. "It has once again shown that we have the right business model and have a firm base with our two pillars," explains Hartmut Jenner. However, the Special Businesses division also contributed to the sales result in 2023. For example, Kärcher Futuretech has won a major order from the Austrian Armed Forces for decontamination systems and has begun re-equipping the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) with mobile field kitchens – up to 400 of them are covered by the framework agreement that has been entered into.
The new KIRA CV 50 robot vacuum cleaner from Kärcher offers an autonomous area performance of over 500 m²/h - two side brushes also remove loose dirt from the edges.
With the new eco!Booster flat jet nozzle, high-pressure cleaning is a breeze and twice as fast, which is not only more efficient but also better for the environment.
Investments in own sites and brand
Last year, Kärcher invested heavily in its future as market leader in the cleaning industry – a total of over 200 million euros. In order to find and retain the right employee for as many positions as possible, Kärcher has launched a new global employer campaign under the motto "Wanna WOW with us?" The campaign was launched with great success, with the number of applications since then increasing by a quarter compared to the same period last year. The company's own sites were also once again a focus of investment: for example,the 19th Kärcher plant has now been built near the Vietnamese city of Da Nang, which has over a million inhabitants; production of entry-level appliances for end customers in Asia will start there shortly. At the production site in Curtea des Arges, Romania, construction work has begun on an extensive plant extension; the new hall will primarily house the development and production of scrubber dryers. By producing its machines in the regions in which they are sold, Kärcher reduces delivery routes and emissions and at the same time makes itself more independent of geopolitical crises.
In Germany, a greatly expanded, fully automated high-bay warehouse was inaugurated at the Obersontheim logistics centre in 2023; another one is currently under construction at the Bühlertal plant. In addition, the newly built Service Centre in Ahorn, Baden-Württemberg, was launched last autumn. From now on, repair and maintenance of products from ten European countries will be carried out here over 10,000 square metres using state-of-the-art technology. Kärcher is thus responding to the increased demand for service and repair resulting from growing sales and greater sustainability awareness on the customer side. "The goal of all strategic endeavours at Kärcher is always maximum customer benefit," explains Hartmut Jenner.
Sustainable in all areas
Kärcher's sustainability management has been operating from a separate corporate division since 2023, which means that the strategic importance of the topic is now even more firmly anchored in the organisation. Kärcher is well on track to achieve its sustainability targets by 2025: for example, despite positive business development, the family-owned company has been able to reduce CO2 emissions at its production and logistics sites worldwide by 29 per cent since 2020 and has found various ways to use natural resources even more efficiently. Kärcher even received the Sustainability Heroes Award 2023 for an innovative packaging concept made from pea starch that replaces plastic inlays. Another focus of our efforts for a clean environment last year was on the topic of water: during the "Kärcher Cleanup Days", for example, over 500 employees in 20 countries cleared waterways and beaches of waste. With this in mind, the company has also supported the non-governmental organisation One Earth – One Ocean in collecting plastic waste from the heavily polluted Cambodian Mekong River. Kärcher also assumed social responsibility during the many natural disasters in 2023: the company provided urgently needed equipment totalling over half a million euros in a very short space of time following the severe earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the tropical storm in New Zealand and the floods in Italy and Slovenia.
In 2023, Kärcher once again carried out free cleaning projects in various countries to help preserve historical monuments: in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan, for example, the cultural sponsorship team removed dirt from the fountain and the memorial museum in time for the G7 Summit. Then it was on to the 170-year-old Helsinki Cathedral, where the forecourt and surrounding steps of the popular landmark were cleaned. In the Greek capital Athens, environmental soiling was once again removed from the glass sculpture "The Runner" and the company's own experts restored the sensitive sandstone floor in the crypt of the German UNESCO World Heritage Site Speyer Cathedral.
Outlook 2024: New at Kärcher
To kick off 2024, Kärcher has restructured its organisation and expanded the Board of Management to six members. In doing so, the company is laying the foundations for further advancing strategically important growth areas such as technology, digitalization and sustainability and gearing them towards future challenges. Markus Limberger has been appointed to succeed the previous COO Dieter Grajer, who has retired after more than 38 years with the family-owned company. As CTO, Marco Cardinale will be responsible for the new Board of Management department Technology & Product Management. Hartmut Jenner believes Kärcher is well prepared for the near future: "2024 will once again be very challenging and intensive. However, the last few years have taught us to react courageously, quickly and consistently to unforeseen events in order to achieve sustainable success together."
On the product side, there will be several exciting innovations this year. These include two new products from Kärcher's growing robotics portfolio in the professional sector: the KIRA B 200 autonomous scrubber dryer for area-intensive applications such as logistics centres or warehouses and the KIRA CV 50 robotic vacuum cleaner for small to medium-sized carpets and hard floor areas such as those found in hotels or office environments. At IFAT in May, Kärcher Municipal will also be presenting a new, fully electric sweeper for the first time. Last year, Kärcher revised its core product for only the second time in the company's history and presented a new range of professional cold water and hot water high-pressure cleaners; in 2024, the focus will be on further introducing the various appliance variants to markets worldwide.
In the private customer sector, too, the signs continue to point to robotics. Kärcher has just launched the RCF 3 intelligent robot mop, a wet cleaning appliance for hard floors. It can be easily controlled via an app, masters a wide variety of floor coverings with ease and can pick up light dry dirt while wet mopping on its own. Furthermore, 2024 will bring Kärcher's private high-pressure cleaner customers a completely new flat jet nozzle called eco!Booster. It delivers 50 per cent more power with the same amount of water and energy consumption. The cleaning task is therefore completed twice as quickly, which is not only more efficient but also better for the environment.
Kärcher received the Sustainability Heroes Award 2023 for an innovative packaging concept made from pea starch that replaces plastic inlays.
Another focus of our efforts for a clean environment last year was on the topic of water: during the "Kärcher Cleanup Days", over 500 employees in 20 countries cleared waterways and beaches of waste.
The company's own experts have restored the delicate sandstone floor in the crypt of the German UNESCO World Heritage Site Speyer Cathedral.
