Industrial computer maker Nexcom International Co Ltd (新漢) yesterday posted the strongest annual growth in revenue in the past five months, boding well for its revenue growth this year amid growing demand for industry 4.0 equipment and new smart manufacturing solutions.
Nexcom revenue grew 24.57 percent last month to NT$621.46 million (US$20.15 million), compared with NT$498.88 million a year earlier.
That took the firm’s first-quarter revenue to NT$1.57 billion, up 8.64 percent from NT$1.44 billion, making it the best first quarter ever.
Over the past six years, Nexcom said it has spent 60 percent of its profits on building Industry 4.0 production lines and smart manufacturing solutions based on the open standard EthernetCAT, rather than the closed standards developed by established players such as Siemens AG.
“The transformation is to take place this year after the production lines began operations in October last year,” Nexcom chairman Clement Lin (林茂昌) told a media briefing in Linkou District (林口), New Taipei City, where the new production lines are located.
Nexcom has transformed itself into a supplier of Industry 4.0 software, or solutions, rather than a pure industrial computer maker, Lin said.
The transformation began eight years ago, when the concept of the fourth industrial revolution, or industry 4.0, was first unveiled.
“Last year, we made NT$6.64 billion in revenue. This year will be even better,” Lin said.
He declined to comment on reports that Nexcom would see a double-digit percentage growth in revenue this year from last year.
Over the past three years, the company’s revenue has risen about 5 percent each year.
The smart manufacturing solutions help manufacturers monitor production lines, do predictive diagnostic maintenance and provide real-time manufacturing cost calculations, among other functions, the company said.
Nexcom last year set up four subsidiaries in Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, as Chinese manufacturers automate their production lines and make their factories smarter.
Chinese manufacturers are faced with a labor shortage and high employee turnover, which can be solved by installing smart production lines, the company said.
Last year, China contributed 20 percent to the company’s overall revenue, it said.
The US and Europe made up about half, Nexcom said.
To cope with its growing business, Nexcom last year added 200 employees to take its workforce to 1,360 people.
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