Trumpf has reported the highest annual sales in its corporate history, aided in no small way by a surge in demand for lasers and laser-based machine tools.

The family-run Ditzingen, Germany, headquartered company, which manufactures conventional machine tools and medical technology as well as lasers, posted total sales of €2.33 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.

That corresponds to an increase of 15 percent, meaning that Trumpf beaten its pre-recession sales record of €2.14 billion, posted in fiscal 2007/8.

"Trumpf benefited from the fact that a lot of customers caught up on investments that had been postponed during the recession", said company president Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller. Thanks to flexible working arrangements with its employees, including sabbaticals taken during the financial crisis, Trumpf says it has been able to adjust quickly from recession to recovery – and believes that it has been able to gain market share as a result.

On the bottom line, the company posted pre-tax earnings of €221 million, up nearly 14% from €185 million last year. At €2.35 billion, orders are also higher than the €2.22 billion figure from the previous year.

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