Banner Batteries has posted record figures for its 2017/18 financial year (1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018). Bolstered by an increase in sales revenue of more than 11%, Banner’s Group turnover smashed through the €300 million barrier for the first time in the company’s 80-year history. Sales revenue rose from €272 million to €302 million.
Attributing the success to the company’s pledge to design and manufacture batteries of the highest quality and reliability, Andreas Bawart, Banner’s co-owner and commercial CEO, stated: “Such product attributes are what sets us apart from the competition in a highly-competitive marketplace. Indeed it is these drivers that continue to attract car manufacturers such as the BMW Group, for example, who have recently committed to using our EFB batteries in addition to Banner’s AGM technology.
“It is also important to reiterate that Banner enjoys an OE pedigree with many models from today’s leading vehicle manufacturers which, in addition to the BMW Group, takes in Audi, Caterpillar, Jungheinrich, Kässbohrer, Liebherr, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Seat, Volvo and VW,” he added.
It is against this backdrop that Banner today enjoys an export quota of over 95%, having a global presence in over 60 countries. During the past financial year, the company has also been successful in establishing a presence in new markets of Mongolia and Paraguay.
Investment Success
The company says its success over recent years has been down to its committed to the field of ongoing capital investment across the business. Since 2015, it has invested over €30 million in its Leonding main manufacturing plant. This has centred on creating additional production capacity, in particular for its environment-friendly start-stop batteries.
Ongoing Environmental Focus
According to Banner, it will continue to focus on a responsible approach to resource-protective and sustainable business practice with 100% of all used batteries being recycled.
This is evidenced by its EFB and AGM technologies, which are employed in so-called micro-hybrid drives and purely start-stop applications. As Andreas Bawart injects: “Our start-stop batteries make a decisive contribution to environment-friendly vehicles. In the 2017/18 financial year they created fuel savings of some 66 million litres, and thus a reduction in CO2 emissions of approximately 164,000 t.”
Future Development
In addition to its AGM/EFB technologies, Banner is also focusing on E-mobility by working towards creating the next generation of standard starter batteries, with every e-car still requiring a conventional starter battery for the supply of its electrical system.
