In the financial year of 2005, Bürkert was able to continue the positive growth development of the last years, mainly by further expanding the company's activities; for instance, Bürkert founded a branch in India, opening up a new market. In addition, the company took over the assets of the Swedish diaphragm valve manufacturer Robolux last year. "However, we will continue to focus on organic growth not only being generated by acquisitions," says Heribert Rohrbeck, CEO of Bürkert. All in all, Bürkert is optimistic about the future as the overall economic situation continues to recover. Positive market trends combined with increasing competition need to be countered with large investments in research & development as well as at the different sites to be able to maintain the leading position in technology.

Profitable growth is the main objective in 2006 as well as putting more emphasis on added value for the customer. Thus Bürkert plans to invest not only in the Sales process but above all in the development of new system solutions. "This is nothing new," Rohrbeck explains, "as every company is striving to play an active part in the systems business. We differentiate ourselves from our competitors by offering our customers measurable added value." This is above all achieved by high-quality and innovative products, a wide range of products providing a "one-stop shop" for the customer, and by customized system engineering solutions.

A big thank you to Chris Hoey at ...

Chris Larsen. Bill Hoey.