Scanvaegt Systems turns red numbers into black – and safeguards jobs under the Corona-pandemic
2019/2020 was a good year at Scanvaegt Systems, with an increase in gross profit of 50 percent to DKK 37.8 million.
"Our financial report shows a very satisfactory result, so we’re are quite content. We were in the red the previous year, where we went through a major clean-up, but now we have put the right team together and are back in the black again”, says CEO Jan Elgaard.
The bottom line was a profit before tax of DKK 10.5 million against a loss of DKK 7.0 million in 2018/2019. The great result is largely due to the committed Scanvaegt team, which has kept focus and delivered very dedicated efforts in all areas.
New products provide growth
The progress is due to several things, explains Jan Elgaard; “We have had a strong focus on dedicated solutions for the food industry. In addition to this we have developed ScanPlant, which is a MES system with modular designed solutions for the food industry. We can now offer software for the entire workflow from goods intake to dispatch, including inventory management, process management, registration of yields, traceability, quality control and labelling ”.
In addition, he explains that within the weighbridge segment, the new ScanPortal system has been launched – it’s a web-based solution that streamlines customers' workflow. It has also been well received by customers.
Safeguarding jobs under the corona
The company's financial year ended on April 30th, and thus includes the first months of the spring lockdown.
As with most other companies, Scanvaegt also implemented a number of initiatives. Among other things, the employees were asked to accept that there were no wage increases this year. In return, the company would go a long way in terms of safeguarding jobs.
"I want all men on deck so we can stay at full tilt. We haven’t had to lay off more than two employees, and we have just recently hired three new employees within the last month in Germany and Poland”, says Jan Elgaard.
Budgeting with negative growth
When the budget for 2020/2021 was to be laid down, Jan Elgaard and co. were however looking into a rather uncertain future. Therefore, negative growth was budgeted for in the current financial year - completely unfamiliar to Scanvaegt.
“In this financial year, we have planned for a negative growth of 3 percent. We had three scenarios when Covid-19 started: -3, -6 and -9 percent, and so far we are ahead of our budget ", says Jan Elgaard, who halfway through the financial year can show that Scanvaegt still has a solid plus on the bottom line.
It has thus turned out that the crisis has not developed quite as gravely as feared - in many ways; right now it’s business as usual in Scanvaegt. Customers are visited as planned, with a little help from team meetings, and the products are installed and serviced according to plan.
Prices under pressure
Nevertheless, the crisis can also be felt at Scanvaegt. Jan Elgaard explains in more detail; “Demand for equipment has slowed down a little, which also means that prices are falling. So we have to work harder for the individual order ”.
However, the Covid-19 crisis also has positive effects, as Scanvaegt's customers are also forced to become more efficient as a result of the crisis.
"I think there will be a ketchup effect when the crisis is over. A lot of investment plans have been parked, but we expect that several companies will want to automate as a result of this, and we are ready to help them, ”says Jan Elgaard.