New Record Year For HTI Group
The HTI Group has increased its turnover for the second year in a row, setting a new turnover record of 1 billion and 477 million and an increase of 13% compared to 2022. The Group is active worldwide in the areas of ropeways (Leitner, Poma, Bartholet and Agudio), snow grooming, crawler carriers and vegetation management (Prinoth and Jarraff), snowmaking and dust suppression systems (Demaclenko and Wlp), wind energy (Leitwind), hydropower (Troyer) and digitalized management of ski resorts (Skadii). The HTI Group currently has 4,656 employees, around 10% more than in 2022. Investments in research and development (38.8 million, a new Group record) and, above all, capex investments (59.2 million) - durable goods - have doubled compared to 2022. Another important figure is training costs, which are of fundamental importance for a group of companies like HTI and amounted to 2.7 million in 2023.
"Our globally active, valued employees have once again enabled the Group to achieve outstanding results, of which I am very proud," comments HTI President Anton Seeber, "But above all, sustainable growth is the fundamental mission of our actions. We continue to focus on our corporate values of innovation, diversification, internationalization and sustainability."
For the Group, the 2023 financial year was characterized by significant projects, prestigious orders and technological innovations - with Europe and North America playing an important role.
The exciting projects in the ropeway sector range from the highly symbolic "Alpine Crossing", which connects Switzerland and Italy via ropeway for the first time thanks to Leitner's cutting-edge technology, to the legendary sea-to-mountain ropeway in Kotor, Montenegro, and the urban ropeways in Mexico City and Santo Domingo.
In total, 89 new ropeways were built worldwide in 2023 - many of them in the USA - for the past winter season. For Prinoth, 2023 was the year of the launch of the electric models in the USA, as well as the expansion of the production and storage facilities in Germany and Austria and the production of snow groomer tracks at the new production center in Slovakia. Last year, Bartholet's Ropetaxi with self-driving cabins was put into operation in the stations at Flims in Switzerland. Wlp has developed a special generator that can be used to keep lawns green in both winter and summer. 2023 was also a great business year for Demaclenko and its 2,500 snow guns, as well as for Leitwind, which was able to open up three new markets (Slovenia, Belgium and Turkmenistan) with its wind farms. Skadii, the ski resort management system, is now active in 500 ski resorts, and the hydropower specialist Troyer received important new orders in Nepal and Georgia immediately after joining the HTI Group, thereby increasing its turnover.
Looking ahead to the current year, there are numerous projects that will be launched or completed in the coming months. In Utah (USA), the new production center of Leitner Poma of America is being built with a fully sustainable production hall powered by wind energy. Urban ropeway transportation is being further expanded - for example with the third ropeway line in Manizales in Colombia and in Santo Domingo as well as three new installations in India. While various touristic ropeways will be built in China, Africa is preparing for POMA's new urban ropeways in Madagascar and Algeria. An important event will undoubtedly be the start of construction of Italy's first urban ropeway in Trieste, while a ropeway for transporting apples will be completed in Trentino. Leitwind will build its first wind farm in Sicily. The year 2024 will end with an anniversary: the 90th birthday of Troyer, the hydropower company that joined the Group in February 2023.
