“Despite the numerous uncertainties, the total operating performance of our operating companies in the past fiscal year, 2021/22, is impressive. We are delighted that so many customers across the globe are using our products and solutions, from reactive resins and machine systems to lightweight composite construction. However, our result has been badly affected by a sharp rise in the cost of raw and other materials, energy, and transportation. Furthermore, the war in Ukraine has led us to stop supplying Russia and Belarus – markets that normally account for a not insignificant proportion of our total operating performance,” says Michael Rampf, CEO of the RAMPF Group.

The companies of the RAMPF Group have enjoyed strong growth in virtually all areas of business, both in Germany and at the international sites in the USA, Canada, China, Japan, and South Korea. At the Grafenberg headquarters, production capacities for resin systems have been substantially expanded. A third building has been commissioned at the Group’s U.S. headquarters in Wixom, Michigan, while in China, RAMPF has now completed the move to its own manufacturing facility after some delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The RAMPF Group has made a good start to the current fiscal year, 2022/23, reports Michael Rampf – “The total operating performance for the first quarter is more than 12 percent up on the same period of the previous year, and orders on hand at the end of the quarter, on September 30, were at a record level. We are, however, expecting orders and sales to fall in the second half-year.”

Sustainable growth

Setting aside external factors over which the Group has no influence, the future is looking bright according to Matthias Rampf, also CEO of the RAMPF Group – “Above all, we are benefiting from growing sustainability requirements worldwide. We are a market leader when it comes to recycling polyurethane and PET, using renewable raw materials in our products, and cutting CO2 emissions in mechanical engineering applications. Our sustainable sourcing and intelligent use of energy reduces these emissions further still – in 2022, our German sites in Bessenbach, Grafenberg, Pirmasens, and Wangen started purchasing only green energy from renewable sources. What’s more, under our energy management system to DIN EN ISO 50001, energy consumption is continuously analyzed and energy-saving potential leveraged.”

High demand for skilled staff

The RAMPF Group currently has 855 employees, 633 in Germany and 222 at its international sites. The demand for additional staff remains high. “While our chemical companies are primarily looking for chemical, chemical lab, and application technicians, our engineering companies require further fitters, mechatronics engineers, robot programmers, and designers, along with assembly, logistics, and quality management staff,” says Frank Fischer, Director of Human Resources & Legal at RAMPF Holding. “Demand is also high in IT, also due to the fact that we are continuing to press ahead with our digitalization strategy,” he adds.

In the 2022 training year, 16 apprentices started at RAMPF, and there are currently a total of 39 young trainees at RAMPF companies in Germany.