A Sunderland cranemaker has seen revenue growth of more than 11% amid a pledge to continue investment in its Wearside operation.
New accounts for Liebherr Sunderland Works (LSW) show revenues climbed to €41.1m (£36.3m) from €36.9m (£32.6m) in the year to the end of December 2022, but pre-tax profits fell sharply from €2.2m (£1.9m) to €1.25m (£1.1m) in the same period. The firm's Ayres Quay base on the Wear near Sunderland City Centre is part of Liebherr's global maritime operation and is where hundreds of offshore and ship cranes have been built since the late 1980s.
A team of more than 180 staff specialise in producing cargo handling equipment including ship and port cranes, offshore cranes and mobile harbour cranes. The Sunderland works is a sister factory to sites in Germany and Austria which work on similar projects. Liebherr said the North East operation is currently manufacturing four of the group's crane products, including ship and dockside, offshore, harbour mobile and stacker models.
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Within the accounts, Liebherr said the shortage of some products and materials posed a challenge which was likely to continue in 2023 but was "under control" thanks to the group's purchasing strategy. And to counter skills shortages, the Sunderland firm has an expanding apprenticeship scheme while encouraging other staff to take up further and higher education courses.
Writing in a report accompanying the accounts, director Rudolf Cherdron said: "In accordance with our five year plan LSW will continuously invest in the manufacturing and supporting administration facilities as well as in staff training in order to remain flexible and competitive. It is one of the strengths not only of LSW but the whole division and Liebherr group, to have a widely diversified portfolio which is constantly adapted in the production planning to cover for dips in demand and cater to the strongest markets."
Turnover for the wider Liebherr Group stood at €12.5bn in 2022 as all divisions except its tower cranes, gear technology and automation systems and components operations reported gains. The 51,000-strong global operator said it had exceeded its 2019 record year but difficult conditions such as increased raw material and energy prices, higher manufacturing costs, skills shortages and ongoing supply chain difficulties impacted the group.
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