2019 saw Covid-19 take its hold on the world. And while many industries struggled to get to grips with the pandemic, the material handling equipment sector saw double-digit percentage rises.
They cleared previous records with ease and saw little impact from the Covid-19 pandemic. But how did these companies perform in 2020 as the pandemic continued to see?
In this article, I’ll be talking you through the top 10 material handling equipment suppliers and showing you how they performed.
Sound good?
Great, let’s get started:
Top 10 Material Handling Equipment Suppliers 2020
The material handling industry has seen formidable growth over the last few years, with a combined growth of 7.3% in 2019, equating to more than $23 billion in revenue.
But how does this number roll out across the board?
| Rank2020 | Rank2019 | Company Name | 2019 Revenue (Million USD) | 2020 Revenue(Million USD) | % Change2019-2020 | Headquarters |
| 1 | 1 | Daifuku Co., Ltd. | 4016 | 4540 | 13% | Osaka, Japan |
| 2 | 3 | Dematic (KIONGroup) | 2662 | 3226 | 21.2% | Atlanta |
| 3 | 2 | Schäfer Group*** | 3217 | 3120 | -3% | Neunkirchen, Germany |
| 4 | 6 | Vanderlande(*TALG) | 1700 | 2100 | 23.5% | Veghel, TheNetherlands |
| 5 | 4 | HoneywellIntelligrated | 1800 | 2018 | 12.1% | Charlotte, N.C. |
| 6 | 4 | Machinery, Ltd Murata. | 1800 | 1490 | -17.2% | Kyoto, Japan |
| 7 | 7 | Knapp Ag | 1370 | 1450 | 5.8% | Hart Bei Graz,Austria |
| 8 | 8 | Beumer GroupGmbH | 1100 | 1400 | 27.3% | Beckum, Germany |
| 9 | 9 | MHS | 1000 | 1050 | 5% | Mount Washington, KY |
| 10 | 11 | TGW Logistics Group GmbH | 850 | 1000 | 17.6% | Marchtrenk, Austria |
| 10 | n/a | Siemens Logistics | N/A | 1000 | N/A | Constrance, Germany |
Daifuku Co., Ltd.
The company Daifuku based out of Osaka in Japan, has remained in the top spot after a strong year of growth. In 2019, the company reported a revenue of 4.016 billion USD.
In 2020, the company reported a 13% rise in profits that saw their revenue hit 4.540 billion USD. And when you look at the three-year change, you’ll see a 9% rise in profits showing why they’re on top.
The growth could be the earnings from acquiring the Netherlands-based Scarabee Aviation Group B.V. and the Austria-based Intersystems Pty Limited.
Dematic (KION Group)
Dematic has shot up from the third position to the second position over the past year. In 2019, the company reported 2.662 billion USD in revenue.
Amazingly the company has seen a 21.2% increase which saw their revenue hit 3.226 billion USD. And to make things more impressive:
The company based out of Atlanta has seen a 37% increase over the last three years, so they’re definitely a company to keep your eye on, especially when they were in 6th place just a few years ago.
Schäfer Group
If you go back a few years, the Schafer Group was at the top table and was outperforming its competitors consistently.
Fast forward, and you’ll notice the Schafer Groups has started to drop off. In 2019, the company was second on the list and reported a revenue of 3.217 billion USD. And to make things worse:
The company saw a -3% loss which saw its revenue drop to 3.120 billion USD. Over the past three years, the German company has lost a total of -3% in revenue.
These losses may be temporary, but in the meantime, it’s something you should be keeping an eye on.
Vanderlande (TALG)
The Vanderlande company based out of the Netherlands has done exceptionally well this year. They’ve gone from 6th place to fourth of the course of the year, which shows the company’s innovation.
During the 2019 period, the company reported 1.700 billion USD in revenue. Outstandingly, the company saw its revenue grow to 2.100 billion USD. That’s a whopping 23.5% increase over the past year.
And to make thing’s more impressive, the company has grown by 37% over the past three years.
Honeywell Intelligrated
Over the past few years, Honeywell Intelligrated has seen a few ups and downs regarding revenue performance.
In 2019 the company sat comfortably in 4th position with a revenue performance of 1.800 billion USD.
And all though it made a 23.5% increase in revenue this year, it still managed to drop down to 5th place. In 2020, Honeywell Intelligrated made 2.018 billion USD, which was shy of Vanderlande’s 2.100 billion USD.
Even though the company say a slight drop, it’s still up by 19% over the past three years.
Murata Machinery, LTD.
In 2019, Murata Machinery, Ltd was sitting in a joint position with Honeywell Intelligrated. During that period, they reported a 1.800 billion USD revenue.
Fast forward to 2020, and the company has dropped 4th position to 6th over the past year. In 2020, they reported a revenue of 1.490 billion USD, which is a 17.2% loss for the Japanese company.
Even though the company reported a loss this year, they are still up by 11% over the past year, so it’s not all doom and gloom.
Knapp AG
Knapp AG is a company based in Austria, and over the past two years, it managed to secure 7th place on the list. In 2019, the company reported a revenue of 1.370 billion USD, which was around a 30% increase from the previous year.
And the increase didn’t stop in 2020 when they reported a revenue of 1.450 billion USD, which is a 5.8% increase over the past year.
And when you look at the three-year revenue percentage, the company increased by 38% in total.
Beumer Group GmbH
Beumer Group is another company that managed to secure the same position as the previous year. In 2019 they reported a revenue of 1.100 billion USD, which was a 10% increase from 2018.
In 2020, the company remained in 8th position and saw its revenue rise to 1.400 billion USD, which is a 27.3% increase from the previous year.
Over the past three years, Beumer Group GmbH has seen a 40% increase, which is astonishing to see. If they keep up this rate of growth, we can expect big things in the future.
MHS
Another company that managed to hold its position over the past year is MHS. They’re a company based out of Mount Washington and reported a revenue of 1.000 billion USD in 2019.
This placed the company comfortably in 9th position for the year. And in 2020, they stayed in the same position. They reported a 1.050 billion USD revenue during that period, which was a 5% growth over the year.
And when you look back over the last three years, you’ll see that MHS has increased their revenue by 22%.
TGW Logistics Group GmbH
In 2018 TGW Logistics Group was firmly in 11th, but in 2019 they saw a growth in revenue that pushed the company to 10th position. In 2019 the company reported a revenue of 850 million USD.
And in 2020, the company saw a rise by 17.6% to an incredible 1 billion USD, which is a phenomenal achievement.
Looking back at the last three years, you’ll see that the company has seen a 22% increase in revenue.
Siemens Logistics
Although the company has been around for a while, it’s a new one to the material handling equipment; and it did incredibly well.
Siemens Logistics managed to secure a joint 10th place position by creating a 1.000 billion USD revenue during 2020.
If the company continues to increase at this rate, then we can expect big things in the future, so we’ll have to keep our eyes on things.
Final Thoughts
Okay, hopefully, that’s opened your eyes to how the top 10 material handling equipment suppliers are performing in the industry.
For many people, it was surprising how well these companies have done during such challenging times. But with companies trying to reduce the amount of staff in the buildings, it’s understandable why these machines have gone through the roof.
Daifuku has always been a consistent contender on the list, and it’s very likely things will stay like that in the future.
But if I had to pick a few companies to keep your eye on in the future, it would be:
- Dematic (KION Group)
- Vanderlande (*TALG)
- Beumer Group GmbH
- Siemens Logistics
All of these companies have performed exceptionally well year by year, and there’s a good chance these numbers will continue to drive forward.
Not only did these companies perform exceptionally well during the 2019-2020 period, but they’ve also been excellent for the past three years prior.
Only time can tell, but if you’re interested in material handling companies and you’re looking for the next big thing, then keep an eye on these four companies.
Hopefully, this article has helped you understand how things are going during the Covid pandemic.