75 years of planned growth

Germany's Beumer Corporation, a manufacturer of sortation, conveying, loading, palletizing, and packaging solutions, will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2009. The current leadership, the third generation of the Beumer family, continues to focus on product and market development for its mostly custom-designed products, and now boasts nine international subsidiaries.

Beumer's strategy ensures steady growth, said Director of Business Development Sven Borghoff. Rather than change direction in response to economic ups and downs, he said, the company formulates long-term plans that respond to trends in its core markets while carefully moving into new markets. Among its recent successes: a shoe-sorter system for the footwear manufacturer Skechers, an automated baggage-handling system for Montreal's airport, and a four-fold increase in sales of equipment to the cement industry in China.