Preparing for the upturn

Rainer Wegener on challenges in the industry, the market situation and future prospects

Despite global economic challenges, STOBER enjoyed slight growth in 2025 – primarily due to consistent internationalization and record sales in the US. With its innovative solutions, this drive specialist is prepared for the expected upturn and has been successful in retaining employees. The company supplies drive systems with maximum fitting precision, particularly for the booming automation and robotics sector. What does the market look like, and when will it pick up? Managing Director Rainer Wegener provides information.

Mr. Wegener, STOBER has a long tradition in drive technology. What does this family business stand for on the market today?

Rainer Wegener: STOBER stands for precision and dynamism. Whenever something needs to be moved or positioned very quickly and with high precision in mechanical engineering, we are the right partner for high-performance drive solutions that are perfectly tailored to the application.

What is your assessment of the current market situation for drive and automation technology in Germany, Europe and worldwide?

Rainer Wegener: The mechanical engineering industry is currently experiencing its longest crisis in 50 years. The causes are structural and geopolitical. An additional challenge is the increasing competition from Asia, which is putting pressure on the market worldwide, particularly in Germany.

How did STOBER’s business actually develop in 2025, and how did customers behave?

Rainer Wegener: In 2025, we recorded slight growth overall. We owe this above all to our consistent internationalization. In the US, our strong presence enabled us to set new records, despite Trump’s tariff policies, because these also affect our competitors, including US suppliers that import components. Our business in England, which we are gradually expanding, has also experienced strong growth. The situation in Germany remained weak. In China, our negative expectations have not been borne out; the market remains stable. Although we are facing strong competition for standard components, our precision gearboxes are clearly holding their own against local suppliers. This is where our strengths really pay off: precision, speed and perfectly coordinated interaction among components.

How is the current situation affecting your workforce?

Rainer Wegener: We are doing everything we can to retain our employees in these challenging times, and we have succeeded so far. With their expertise and commitment, they are our most valuable resource. We have gotten through such phases together before, for example during the financial crisis. We are convinced that an upturn is coming, and we want to be ready for it.

In your opinion, what role do growth sectors such as automation and robotics play for STOBER?

Rainer Wegener: Studies show that automation and robotics will remain a strong driver of industry in the coming years. The industry anticipates annual growth of five percent. The demands in the industry are increasing, and applications must become more efficient. Our portfolio puts us in an ideal position to meet them.

What are you doing in the medium and long term to put STOBER in a good organizational and technological position?

Rainer Wegener: In addition to internationalization in recent years, we now want to further advance the global networking of our branches. To achieve this, we have formed a leadership team, drawing on our most important production locations: Germany, the US and Hungary. Among other responsibilities, their task is to jointly determine our strategic direction and make decisions on investments and the global alignment of the production landscape. The aim is to expand the scope for action, react more quickly to market impulses and make supply chains permanently resilient. We are therefore continuing to expand our branches in the US and Hungary. We analyze the current environmental situation in order to be able to relocate production steps more quickly and effectively – for example, from Germany to the US or vice versa, depending on the circumstances and requirements. At the same time, we are raising know-how to a uniform level everywhere in order to be able to react more quickly and resiliently.

In addition, we have created a “Pre-Development” unit: a specialized engineering team that explores, develops and shares new technologies for implementation, independent of day-to-day business. This unit thus forms the foundation for future product generations, as well as for new production technologies. For example, STOBER was the first manufacturer to use skiving in the production of planetary gearboxes.

Which products or solutions were particularly important for STOBER in 2025 and why?

Rainer Wegener: Our success has been guaranteed by the STOBER system, consisting of a drive controller, gearbox, motor, cable and – if required – gear rack. This has enabled us to establish ourselves in the US in particular, where for a long time only our mechanical solutions had been in demand. Thanks to optimized sales and product management, our customers there now recognize our bundled mechatronic expertise. This is precisely what sets us apart from many of our competitors, including those in Asia, who still focus heavily on individual components and low prices.

How have your customers’ requirements changed over the past year – for example in terms of efficiency, security or networking, and in relation to global uncertainties?

Rainer Wegener: Due to the geopolitical situation in 2025, our customers were focusing on the resilience of their supply chains. Rare earths have been and still are a major topic in servo technology: China dominates not only in terms of deposits but also in processing expertise. Therefore, we are looking at alternative materials and supply chains, for example from Australia, which has considerable reserves and is expanding its production in order to reduce its global dependence on China.

The topic of security is becoming increasingly important in the context of the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). This requires manufacturers to improve the cyber security of networked products; to disclose, minimize or eliminate vulnerabilities; and to close security gaps throughout the entire product life cycle.

When do you expect the market to pick up noticeably?

Rainer Wegener: We had expected a slight upturn as early as mid-2025. Then came Trump’s tariff policies in April and, in response, China’s decision not to supply rare earths. All of this has led to enormous uncertainty. The government crisis in Germany and the new elections also contributed. The new government’s programs have been slow to show results. However, I now foresee an upturn starting this year and intensifying in the second half of the year.

What gives me confidence are positive signals from the European region: One of our major customers in Italy wants to invest around 20 percent more in our solutions; our French colleagues are reporting an upturn in the market; and some promising projects are planned in England. And the Americans are also making further progress. I am certain that things will also pick up again in Germany. There is currently an investment backlog because many manufacturers have been waiting for years due to the uncertain situation. This is being addressed through the possibility of special depreciation of 30 percent, which the new government has introduced.

What major challenges do you expect for 2026 – and how are you preparing

Rainer Wegener: To be prepared for the upturn, we are making a deliberate effort to build up stocks. This requires the right balance because it ties up money and personnel. At the same time, sales are still falling short of expectations. Imagine you are driving on the highway: You see brake lights in front of you. A traffic jam looms. What do you do? Do you brake in a panic, and then accelerate as soon as a few yards of free space open up in front of you? That will lead to quite a jerky ride. Another option is to apply the gas pedal gently and keep moving forward. We are maintaining momentum so that we can hit the ground running when the market picks up again.

Which trending topic do you think will shape drive and automation technology in the coming years?

Rainer Wegener: Drives are the muscles of a machine: They show precisely when a system has reached its limits or still has sufficient reserves. Automation provides the nerves. A higher-level industrial AI system can serve as a brain to optimize processes, control movements and make production processes more efficient. Data is becoming a crucial raw material in industry. It needs to be recorded, processed and used intelligently.

I believe that Europe, and Germany in particular, has the opportunity to play a pioneering role in industrial artificial intelligence. Both mechanical engineering and drive technology have the know-how to do this. They know where the data is generated and how it can be used ideally.

Rainer Wegener: “I foresee an upturn starting this year and gathering speed in the second half of the year, supported by encouraging signals from Europe.”

Photo credits: STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG

You can find high-resolution image material for downloading here.

STOBER develops and produces precise, highly efficient drive components and systems, including gearboxes, motors, gear racks and drive controllers for custom solutions. They are used in various industries, including automation and robotics, as well as the plastics, packaging and machine tool industries. STOBER has 14 locations and 80 service partners in over 40 countries. In addition to its headquarters in Pforzheim, Germany, there are also production facilities in Hungary and the US. The family-owned company currently employs around 1,000 people worldwide.

Contact data for country-specific publication:

Germany:	Austria:
STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG Kieselbronner Str. 12 75177 Pforzheim Phone: +49 7231 582-0 sales@stoeber.de www.stober.com	STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH Hauptstraße 41a 4663 Laakirchen Phone: +43 7613 7600-0 sales@stoeber.at www.stoeber.at
Switzerland:
STÖBER Schweiz AG Rugghölzli 2 5453 Remetschwil Phone: +41 56 496 9650 sales@stoeber.ch www.stober.ch

Press contact:
STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG
Silvia Feder│Head of Marketing
Kieselbronner Str. 12
75177 Pforzheim│Deutschland
Phone: +49 7231 582-1660
silvia.feder@stoeber.de
www.stoeber.de

Media:
STÖBER Antriebstechnik GmbH + Co. KG
Solveig Moll
Kieselbronner Str. 12
Phone: +49 7231 582-1183
solveig.moll@stoeber.de
www.stoeber.de

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