“We are facing difficult market conditions today,” says Managing Director Thomas Fröhlich. “The golden age of the past is definitely over. Today, we are not only talking about competition that is dominated by dumping but also about serious financing issues. Many customers are not in the position to make huge investments; instead, they expect suppliers to agree to long-term financing solutions. Although we are not willing to accept conditions like these, our order books are full. We simply benefit from our excellent reputation and offer fair and attractive prices. Our products are innovative and ahead of the market. This is still an asset setting us apart from the market.”
Machines Highest Mechatronic banks on huge experience and has in-depth knowledge of the market and its ever-changing requirements. The company was founded in Schwoich in 1983 as MHM Maschinen Herbert Mayerhofer. In 2003, it moved to its current premises in Erl.
When in 2010 the Italian Arioli group bought MHM, this had a very positive impact on the company’s further development. “As we changed our name to Machines Highest Mechatronic, we could maintain our well-established brand MHM, which has been a great advantage,” stresses Mr. Fröhlich. “To further consolidate our position we are currently working on new marketing concepts and product modernization. Our main aim is to strengthen our reputation as a premium supplier of top textile screen printing machines.”
Today, MHM has 63 employees and has continuously increased sales over the last few years. In 2011, it recorded turnover of 7.5 million EUR, in 2014 the company generated twelve million EUR, and for 2015 a further increase to 14 million EUR is expected.
“The market is basically dominated by three players,” says Mr. Fröhlich. “The number one is from the United States, the number two from Portugal and MHM comes as number three in terms of quantity. When it comes to quality, the situation is completely different. We are clearly number one, and our innovative machines are always ahead of the market. They are known as the Rolls-Royce among textile screen printing machines.”
One of MHM’s top products is the printing machine SP4000. More standard features, greater versatility, more time-saving features and production speeds of up to 1,400 pieces per hour guarantee outstanding image quality, flawless consistency and reliability. “Our Synchroprint 4000 is without doubt a premium product,” states Mr. Fröhlich. “It is characterized by outstanding flexibility and safety. We are recognized for being extremely innovative. SP 4000 and our S-Type Xtreme, which was designed for high-volume screen printers, illustrate this perfectly.”
And so does the iQ-Oval, a screen printing machine that excels in its revolutionary intelligent drive system. It is one of the fastest oval presses in the world and is synonymous with high performance, accuracy and reliability. All MHM machines are easy to use, and they stand for durability.
Due to their striking quality, hardly any used MHM machines exist. “It is not only the outstanding machine quality that sets us apart but also the fact that we are the market leader in terms of total cost of ownership,” adds Mr. Fröhlich. “We have very low spare parts consumption, and due to the machine’s outstanding efficiency, there is rapid amortization of initially higher investments.”
MHM’s customer portfolio is dominated by advertising companies on the one side and the textile industry on the other. 99% of the machines are sold in non-German-speaking countries. The United States, India, Great Britain and Bangladesh represent core markets. “Even in countries such as India or Bangladesh quality is becoming more and more important nowadays,” explains Mr. Fröhlich. “Furthermore, we have an increasing demand in Uzbekistan and Turkey, which makes us look confidently into the future.”