HTI: Sales Remain Stable At € 1.4 Billion – Investments And Number Of Employees Increase
The HTI Group closed 2024 with total sales of €1.4 billion, matching the previous year's record level. Research and development expenditures increased to €41 million, and a further €3 million was invested in continuing education and training. President Anton Seeber stated: "We live and work in a time of great change that requires us to become even more flexible." Several prestigious urban projects from Mexico to France are planned for 2025, and winter technologies will also remain a central component within the group.
The HTI Group's products are represented in 89 countries and are broadly positioned internationally with 21 production facilities, 104 branches, and 142 sales and service centers.
The HTI Group looks back on another successful year. Total revenue of €1.4 billion was essentially at the previous year's level, while investments and the number of employees also increased significantly. The 2024 financial statements of the South Tyrolean group, which operates worldwide in the cable car ( Leitner, Poma, Bartholet, and Agudio ), snow groomers, tracked vehicles, and vegetation management ( Prinoth and Jarraff ), snowmaking and dust control systems ( Demaclenko and WLP ), wind energy ( Leitwind ), hydropower ( Troyer ), and digitalized ski area management ( Skadii ), thus remain at the record level of 2023, albeit with a slight decline of around five percent. Investment, however, continued to rise significantly compared to 2023. The Group achieved a new record in research and development (from 39 to 41 million euros), while investments in fixed assets (Capex) increased even more sharply between 2023 and 2024, from 52.9 million to 63 million euros.
Also noteworthy are the investments in employee training and development, which are fundamentally important for a manufacturer like HTI, which is focused on excellence. In 2024, these investments amounted to €3 million—a significant sum that enables the Group's companies to operate successfully in their respective markets for as long as possible.
"It is the thousands of exceptional employees worldwide, who have now surpassed the record number of 4,800, who make these outstanding results possible in the first place," HTI President Anton Seeber proudly comments. "We are going through a period of major economic change that requires us to become even more flexible and constantly adapt to the changing global environment. I am convinced that our flexibility, combined with the recognized quality and reliability of our products, will continue to drive the Group's growth – always in line with our fundamental values of innovation, sustainability, diversification, and internationalization."
The success figures of the Vipiteno-based group of companies become particularly clear when looking at the projects and orders for 2024, which was characterized by numerous new developments.
Last year was primarily one of expansion: three major new locations were opened in the USA, Canada, and Italy. In addition to its historic headquarters in Grand Junction, Colorado, Leitner Poma of America now also has a new production center in Tooele, Utah, with an investment of 30 million US dollars. In Granby, Canada, the site was expanded by 25 million dollars, enabling Prinoth to double the production of snow groomers and tracked utility vehicles. The new Panther XL vehicles, which were commissioned by the Norwegian Polar Institute for use in Antarctica, are also manufactured here. The third new location is all about logistics: the Leitner Customer Service Global Logistics Center was opened in Oppeano, Veneto – a 21,000 square meter facility from which goods are shipped worldwide. Construction also took place at the site in Telfs, Austria, with the expansion of Prinoth's international logistics center. In addition to the construction of an additional hall, the latest logistics concepts with fully automated storage systems were integrated into the existing logistics.
In addition to these production and logistics centers, numerous cable car systems were also opened worldwide in 2024. Particularly noteworthy are nine new Leitner systems in Italy, including in Pila, Cervinia, San Martino di Castrozza, Carezza, and Corvara. Leitner also implemented further systems around the globe. In the area of winter technologies, Demaclenko presented the new Evo 4.0 snow gun, which enables higher production with lower energy consumption, while Prinoth unveiled a new transport cabin for the Leitwolf and Bison models. Bartholet implemented another technological innovation: in Flims, Switzerland, the Ropetaxi was put into operation. The cabins operate autonomously in the stations, thus enabling significant energy savings. Another highlight is the spectacular new tricable gondola "Jandri" from Poma in Les Deux-Alpes, which, with an investment volume of 148 million euros, is one of the largest systems in the Alps.
In the energy sector, HTI companies are also looking back on a significant year in 2024. Leitwind built its first wind farm in Sicily in Trapani, supplying 2,500 households with clean energy. Troyer, the group's hydropower company, celebrated its 90th anniversary, marking the anniversary of a true success story from a small workshop to a global company.
Further growth planned for 2025
HTI anticipates further growth in 2025 thanks to numerous new projects in the coming months. A significant portion of this will involve urban cable car systems, a sector experiencing strong growth. Key projects include new cable cars in Mexico City, El Salvador, and Santo Domingo, as well as the opening of an urban cable car in Ajaccio, Corsica. Optimism is also emerging regarding the possible start of construction of Italy's first urban gondola lift in Trieste. Major investments are also planned for alpine facilities. These include new facilities in South Tyrol, the Aosta Valley, Trentino, and Belluno. Furthermore, Leitner is returning to Spain after several years and will build two new facilities in Benasque and Astún in the Aragonese Pyrenees.
A particularly exciting innovation is the so-called "Apple Cable Car" – a cable car used to transport apples in Trentino's Val di Non. Two new inclined lifts are also being built: in Mesiano to connect Trento's city center with the university's engineering faculty, and in Predazzo for the new ski jumping hills being prepared for the 2026 Olympic Games.
