System Partner for Health Care
Dear Reader,
2016 was an exciting year that brought new ideas and changes. For the B. Braun Group, it was also the first full year of implementation of our 2020 corporate strategy.
We have defined the course of our future with this strategy: As a “system partner for health care,” we want to better understand the problems of our customers and partners to develop compatible approaches to solutions in collaboration with them. The goal is to achieve the best results through the interactions of people, products and processes. We are already seeing the first results in the market and consider this to be confirmation that we are on the right path with our initiatives.
Our more than 58,000 employees around the world form the foundation of our achievements and future success of the company. The drive to develop solutions that protect and improve lives of people around the entire world unites us all.
Many examples show us how this can be done, and numerous awards acknowledge our commitment. For example, B. Braun received the “Best Employer” award in China and Hungary and the “Top Workplace” title in Pennsylvania, USA. In 2016, we celebrated the opening of our office in Kenya and grew in South Africa through the acquisition of two production facilities. In China, we gave the go-ahead for the Aesculap Academy training center in Suzhou, and at our corporate location in Melsungen, Germany, we built a comprehensive school incorporating concepts for creative learning.
Furthermore, employees, the Workers’ Council and corporate management supported the local integration of refugees with the “B. Braun for Refugees” initiative and provided help to more than 200 social and cultural projects worldwide. These initiatives stand for responsible collaboration and lay the foundation for continued success in the future.
The Management Board of B. Braun Melsungen AG is pleased to look back at a successful 2016 fiscal year. We recorded sales of € 6.5 billion and a sales increase of 5.6 percent. With a strong growth in earnings, we exceeded our goals for the year. This success is based on a targeted strategy and strong team performance. Therefore, I would like to sincerely thank all of our employees for their dedication, ideas and trust.
I am convinced that we will continue on our present course in the coming year. Proximity to customers remains our defining maxim. Collaboration and innovation will also help us to solve the tasks that lie ahead of us. Investments in research and development and the expansion of production capacity in Japan, Indonesia, and the USA are further important components of the implementation of our strategy.
The process of “digitalization” is an integral component of all projects, and something we consider to be part of our continual advancement and a guarantor of long-term competitiveness. More than ten years ago, we commissioned a fully IT-supported production process. For many years, we have also relied on automation and intelligent networking in logistics. By further harmonizing global processes, we aim to utilize synergies and to develop new potential.
Our goals are to achieve an annual growth rate of five to seven percent and annual sales of about € 8 billion by 2020. On the basis of our strong corporate culture, we will all contribute to achieving these goals.
The central character of this year’s annual report takes us on a journey through her everyday life. We accompany Xiaoqian from Shanghai and gain insight into her life and a changing China. Xiaoqian represents the diversity and opportunities that life offers us and that we strive for every day at B. Braun. I wish you an interesting and exciting read.
With best regards,
Prof. Dr. Heinz-Walter Große
Chairman of the Management Board of B. Braun Melsungen AG
Caroll H. Neubauer Otto Philipp Braun Markus Strotmann Dr. Annette Beller | Dr. Meinrad Lugan Prof. Dr. Heinz-Walter Große Anna Maria Braun Prof. Dr. Hanns-Peter Knaebel |