Global megatrends

What drives our business

e-mobility

The global megatrends result, among other things, in more and new types of wire being installed in vehicles. These will act as key drivers of the steady rise in demand for automation solutions for reasons of quality, efficiency, complexity, cost, miniaturization, and traceability.

Emission reduction and electromobility

⁠Growing environmental awareness on the part of consumers and the associated goal of emission-free vehicles are among the megatrends that will support the Komax Group's business in the long term. A key role will be played in this respect by e-mobility.⁠

Improved safety

The need for greater road traffic safety represents a further megatrend. Here the emphasis is now no longer just on protection in the event of an accident, but above all on avoiding accidents. As a consequence, the number of sensors in vehicles will continue to rise.

Cost efficiency for affordable vehicles

⁠Finally, a global megatrend towards affordable vehicles is emerging. This requires greater cost efficiency in manufacturing, which in turn is increasing the pressure to automate wire processing further.

These trends support the Komax Group's business and offer long-term growth opportunities:

Rising number of vehicles being manufactured

The Komax Group generates around 75% of its revenues through customers in the automotive industry. According to analysis conducted by S&P Global Mobility, around 89 million cars and light commercial vehicles were manufactured worldwide in 2024. The analysts of S&P Global Mobility are expecting volumes to grow to around 96 million vehicles by 2029. The rising number of vehicles manufactured is one of the key growth drivers of the Komax Group.

cables

More wires per vehicle

⁠Innovations in vehicle construction, new functionalities, and an ever-rising fit-out level in all vehicle classes are leading to a further increase in demand for wires and crimp contacts in the automotive industry. This trend, which has been perceptible for a number of years now, will strengthen further in the future. Accordingly, the number of wires that need to be assembled per vehicle is on the rise.

Simplification of the wiring harness and miniaturization

Wire harnesses in vehicles are becoming increasingly complex, which presents challenges for automatic production. Therefore, automotive manufacturers are seeking to simplify the wire harness. Zonal electrical systems with several smaller wire harnesses rather than one big one will reduce wire length, but not necessarily the number of wires used, and this is the key element for the Komax Group. Simpler wire harnesses with shorter wires will help significantly increase the degree of automation in processing. Another factor driving automation is the ongoing miniaturization of wires, which makes manual processing increasingly difficult or even impossible.

Long-term trend toward automation intact

These key factors are driving the business of the Komax Group on a long-term basis. A large part of the wire harness manufacturing process is still done by hand, but rising wage costs, an increasing lack of personnel and sources of error caused by the increasing complexity support investments in automation. Intelligent automation solutions, quality assurance tools, and systems for testing harnesses help to guarantee efficiency and reliability of the production process. Therefore, automotive manufacturers, increasingly calling on their suppliers to further automate their production processes.

Customers are aware that there is no way of side-stepping the trend toward automation. In the coming years, too, global megatrends will contribute to the stage-by-stage increase in the automation of wire processing.

Corporate strategy

Four strategic key priorities

The Komax Group develops state-of-the-art technological solutions for automated wire processing in three market segments. In order to achieve above-average profitability and sustainable growth, it pursues four strategic priorities with its strategy. The corporate purpose, the core values, and the ESG approach form the basis of these:

Our markets

Focus on three market segments

The Komax Group primarily focuses on three market segments. The core business is the automotive market segment, which accounts for some 75% of revenues.

Automotive

This is by far the most important market segment for the Komax Group. In no other industry is the volume of wires to be processed so large. With a production output of around 89 million vehicles per year, each containing on average some 1,700 wires with 3,200 crimp contacts, the demand for automation solutions is enormous. An increase in electrical functions further accelerates demand. And there is still plenty of potential for additional automation steps, as wire harnesses are still manufactured by hand to a large extent.

Aerospace & Railway

Issues such as safety, lightweight construction, and lower emissions have been at the forefront of developments in aerospace for many years. The Komax Group can draw on the experience acquired in these areas when it comes to its core business too, as these themes continue to grow in importance in the automotive industry. This market segment also now includes the Railway area, as the level of automation is low here, too, and the corresponding need for automated wire processing is rising steadily.

Industrial & Infrastructure

The experience gained in the automotive industry can be put to good use by the Komax Group in all sorts of other markets. For example, the trend toward increasing automation of wire processing is evident in industrial areas such as energy infrastructure (e.g. e-mobility and renewable energies), building automation, robotics, and mechanical engineering. The processing of wires for industrial and infrastructure applications such as electric control cabinets often involves working with very small batches. In order for automation to nevertheless be commercially viable in this context, the Komax Group offers its customers a broad selection of products.

Brand strategy

Strong brands as a success factor

A key success factor for the Komax Group is its strong brand. The brand strategy is therefore a vital element in the implementation of the corporate strategy. As an innovative market leader, the Komax Group is confident and performance-oriented. The Komax brand stands for competence, quality, and functionality, and represents the company as a reliable and enthusiastic partner and a pioneer for a shared voyage of discovery with its stakeholder groups.

More on our brands

Innovation

Leading technology

For a market leader like the Komax Group, the ability to roll out innovations on an ongoing basis and thereby enable its customers to gain genuine competitive advantages is of the utmost strategic importance. For that reason, the Komax Group channels some 8–9% of its revenues into research and development every year.

Since 2020, the Komax Group has spent CHF 282.8 million on research & development, thereby cementing its leading position in the automation of wire processing. For the Komax Group this represents a form of decisive investment in an opportunity to leverage additional unique selling propositions and to secure the company’s future.

E-mobility

The Komax Group supports an accelerated shift towards e-mobility. From the Komax Group’s perspective this is a promising development that offers an opportunity to share in this growth, thanks both to the company’s portfolio of high-voltage cable processing solutions and to the fact that new electric vehicle models frequently feature state-of-the-art driver assistance systems – as a basis for autonomous driving – as well as infotainment technology. All these systems require a large number of special cables, creating additional sales opportunities for the Komax Group. The company is very well positioned for these developments, not least thanks to the acquisition of Hosver in China. It will accommodate these developments and support these with innovative solutions.

Digital transformation

⁠Digital transformation is of major strategic importance for the Komax Group, and is the target of significant investment. These investments will pay off in the medium and long term, securing both profitability and technology leadership.

SMART FACTORY by KOMAX

Despite the increasing complexity, Komax Group customers have to deliver sustained high quality while keeping costs as low as possible. To make this possible, the Komax Group provides its customers the SMART FACTORY by KOMAX, which encompasses products and solutions that substantially reduce quality costs and significantly increase wire processing productivity. In this way, the Komax Group – together with its customers – is providing consumers with intelligent products that are not only continuously improving, but also operate reliably and are affordable.

Collaboration on various initiatives

As the technology leader in automated wire processing, the Komax Group strives to actively shape key developments in its three market segments and thereby advance automation further. To this end, it partners with other leading companies in various organizations and initiatives. These include Next2OEM – an initiative to develop a digitalized, automated value chain, the VWS4LS project, which is working on the future-proof design of the production of wiring harnesses in cars, and the Smart Cabinet Building Initiative, which aims to provide holistic solutions for control cabinet construction.

Mid-term targets

Value generation

Above-average profitability and sustainable growth are important goals for the Komax Group. This also includes acting in an environmentally conscious and socially responsible manner towards all stakeholders.

The Komax Group wants to increase its value on an ongoing basis through profitable growth. It has therefore set itself ambitious targets for growth and profitability by 2030.