Subdued demand in the traditional wire and tube bending business continues to pose challenges in 2025. New markets and targeted measures are offsetting the sluggish performance of the core business and helping to safeguard jobs.
Following the trend of previous years, 2025 has also remained subdued. Economic growth in German-speaking countries remains weak. The metalworking industry is being impacted in particular by high energy and raw material costs, along with customers’ cautious investment behavior. In many areas, this is further compounded by the growing shortage of skilled labor. Positive momentum is emerging in the medical technology and e-mobility sectors. Internationally, select markets, especially in North and South America, are performing well. As a result, WAFIOS' export ratio rose to 72%, compared with 65.7% in 2024.
Management, staff and shareholders united
Despite the global economic downturn, the Group improved its annual result from €0.3 million in 2024 to €3.7 million. In fiscal year 2025, the WAFIOS Group generated revenue of €168.4 million (2024: €175.6 million), maintaining its business activities in a challenging market environment. The equity ratio increased slightly to 50.7% (2024: 50.4%). WAFIOS AG recorded sales of EUR 125.9 million and an annual result of EUR 2.5 million (2024: EUR 119.6 million / EUR 0.7 million). In 2025, shareholders supported the financing of the company’s future projects by waiving dividend payments, while employees contributed by adjusting their special payment claims. The Annual General Meeting held on July 24, 2026, approved a prudent dividend of €0.25 per share. This leaves two-thirds of the annual result within the company to fund investments and innovation.
In the previous year, WAFIOS had responded proactively to fluctuating demand by implementing flexible working-hour reductions for its workforce. Weak demand led to lower capacity utilization in certain areas. This challenge was successfully addressed through the implementation of short-time work arrangements. The measure is designed to avoid job losses and help the company navigate the period of challenging economic conditions. "Short-time work is being implemented flexibly across different areas depending on operational requirements. Employees in areas with higher workloads work additional hours, while those in areas with lower workloads are placed on short-time work. This provides the flexibility to adjust capacity in line with actual demand. Our highly motivated workforce is a cornerstone in successfully navigating the current economic environment," explains Dr. Uwe-Peter Weigmann, Spokesman of the Executive Board at WAFIOS. This also enabled the company to maintain a relatively stable workforce. At year-end, WAFIOS AG had a total workforce of 788 employees, including 718 employees at its Reutlingen site. This includes 63 apprentices who receive hands-on, practical training. WAFIOS is also committed to supporting work-life balance for its employees and has been awarded the "Family-Conscious Company" certification. Since 2013, familyNET has awarded the designation in recognition of companies that foster a family-friendly, employee-focused, and sustainable corporate culture. familyNET is an initiative of the Südwestmetall and Chemie employers’ associations, coordinated by the Bildungswerk der Baden-Württembergischen Wirtschaft e.V. in cooperation with the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism, the Baden-Württemberg State Family Council, and the State Association for Child Day Care.
There was also a change in the Executive Board at the start of 2025. Martin Holder stepped down from the Executive Board of WAFIOS AG upon reaching retirement age. He continues to maintain close ties with the company and took over as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of WAFIOS AG in February 2026. In addition, he continues to serve on the Executive Board of Südwestmetall. The new WAFIOS Executive Board consists of Dr.-Ing. Uwe-Peter Weigmann, Spokesman of the Executive Board, together with the newly appointed Executive Board members Dipl.-Ing. Jörg Eisele and Dipl.-Ing. Martin Mayer.
Investments in digitalization and future-proofing
WAFIOS continuously invests in strengthening the company’s long-term competitiveness. This includes initiatives to digitalize production, the targeted expansion of IT infrastructure, and substantial investments in cybersecurity. The TISAX certification, held since 2024, underscores the company’s high standards for handling sensitive data. A digitalization project in mechanical manufacturing is being used to further optimize processes and realize additional efficiency gains.
"The broad implementation of a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) in mechanical manufacturing at our production sites in Reutlingen and Marktredwitz is making our processes significantly more efficient, while enabling us to actively respond to changing and dynamic customer requirements," explains Martin Mayer, Member of the WAFIOS Executive Board.
The new 3D Printing Hub further expands WAFIOS’ innovation and manufacturing capabilities. The use of modern 3D printing technologies enables shorter development cycles, cost reductions, and significant acceleration of manufacturing processes. Additive manufacturing is used primarily in the development of new machines and tooling solutions, the commissioning of new machines, and assembly operations, including the production of fixtures, grippers, and gauges.
At the same time, WAFIOS is relocating the production of selected machines to its WAFIOS Portugal Production facility. This measure strengthens international competitiveness and helps safeguard the long-term capacity utilization of development, commissioning, customer installation, and customer service functions at the German sites.
WAFIOS Assistant and myWAFIOS.ai – the powerful duo tackling the skills shortage
Machines featuring assisted and automated functions were presented at wire & Tube in Düsseldorf, one of the industry’s leading trade fairs, as early as 2024. Through this development, WAFIOS helps companies overcome the challenges of the skilled labor shortage. WAFIOS continues to build on this approach in 2025. WAFIOS developed the innovative and unique WAFIOS Assistant system, which supports machine operators during setup through two intelligently connected screens. While the setup of new parts previously required dedicated training, operators can now complete training and setup procedures directly within the WAFIOS Assistant. This makes knowledge digitally accessible and available regardless of individual experience and expertise. As a result, the setup process is standardized and internal company knowledge is effectively shared. Data remains entirely within the company.
Since 2020, WAFIOS has been using the connectavo maintenance software, a powerful digital solution for maintenance management. The cloud-based, mobile-enabled software helps companies efficiently organize maintenance processes and enables the AI assistant Conny to provide information quickly and in a targeted manner. myWAFIOS.ai builds on this proven technology foundation. Artificial intelligence supports operators with questions relating to machine setup, troubleshooting, and tool changes. myWAFIOS.ai draws its information from secure WAFIOS sources, including manuals, tutorials, machine drawings, and the expertise of experienced WAFIOS operators and service personnel.
“Many companies are facing a shortage of skilled labor. With myWAFIOS.ai and the WAFIOS Assistant, we make the knowledge of experienced employees accessible to everyone, anytime and directly at the machine. This simplifies the onboarding of new employees, reduces setup times, and ensures that answers to key questions are available exactly when they are needed," explains Jörg Eisele, Member of the WAFIOS Executive Board.
Expansion of busbar and axial flux coil production
WAFIOS continues to strategically expand its e-mobility portfolio. With solutions for short and long busbars, as well as coated and uncoated variants, the company covers a broad spectrum of applications. These solutions enable high charging performance in applications such as modern charging infrastructure and fast-charging systems. Achieving high charging power requires busbars with larger cross-sections in both vehicles and charging stations. WAFIOS machines are designed specifically to process these busbars. The BTF 90 is a new addition to the portfolio and was developed for the high-precision production of long busbars with complex geometries. Thanks to an innovative concept with two bending heads, a modular machine design, and a new transport system, the machine enables economical production of these new busbars, from prototypes through series production.
WAFIOS also offers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions for electric motor components. From hairpins and I-pins to radial and axial flux coils, a wide range of geometries can be produced efficiently and reliably for series production. In response to the growing importance of axial flux motors, WAFIOS has developed a new machine concept for high-volume series production, combining high bending quality with short setup times, ease of maintenance, and a compact machine design. In 2025, the first production systems for axial flux coils were successfully put into operation for series manufacturing. This further underscores the company’s expertise as a technology partner for the production of advanced drive components.
Expanding market presence
2025 is characterized by a strong international trade fair presence and represents an important component of WAFIOS' sales and market development strategy. In addition to successful participation in international industry trade fairs, WAFIOS' own event formats, such as the Innovation Days and the Reutlingen E-Mobility Days (REDs), were also met with a positive response. The REDs have become an established forum for the e-mobility industry. The seventh edition of the REDs will take place from 17 to 19 November 2026. The Innovation Days were held for the fourth time in 2025. The event brings together the latest WAFIOS innovations with opportunities for dialogue and knowledge sharing among industry experts. The international subsidiaries also expanded their activities, including through events such as the Medical Days in the USA and participation in numerous industry trade fairs. At the same time, WAFIOS is increasingly leveraging digital presentation formats, including the Apple Vision Pro VR headset and the Holodeck. The VR headset enables realistic and interactive presentations of machines and innovative manufacturing concepts. This makes forward-looking concepts tangible through digital experiences. The growing international trade fair presence supports sales growth and the expansion into new markets.
