Quarterly: Developments at Antonius and in our Market

What are the key developments at Antonius? This is what Rob Derix, Commercial Director at Antonius, discusses in this quarterly. He looks at market developments, the labor market, and looks forward to an interesting trade fair, the World Hydrogen Summit 2023. With this article, you will be fully informed of our outlook and get a glimpse into our beautiful company.

We have come through a challenging time, and it seems that some stability is emerging. This fortunately also provides predictability, which we at Antonius are pleased about. It means that we can look further ahead again and invest heavily in the future. How we do this and why? That is what I will share with you through quarterlies such as this one. Of course, I invite you to respond, and I look forward to a dialogue on topics that affect us all.

In this quarterly, we will discuss:

• Intake at pre-corona level
• Nearshoring increasingly important
• Equipment manufacturers very active
• Antonius at full strength with new colleagues
• Trade fair participation: World Hydrogen 2023 summit & exhibition
• Raw material prices

Intake at pre-corona level

Things are going well at Antonius. Even if we consider the increased raw material prices, we are at a pre-corona level. The size of the orders is larger, and we have several developments to thank for that. In recent years, we have invested heavily in our visibility, and that is paying off. In the past few years, we have attracted some great customers, and after successful first collaborations, we now see these parties returning with larger orders.

We also see the order size increasing in certain regions, I would like to discuss the UK and Nordics. In the UK, there is more activity, looks like Brexit gave a push to the British manufacturing industry. In the Nordics, we see a lot happening around energy. Not only is the transition to sustainably generated energy an important driver of growth, but maintenance and improvement of existing installations also play a role.

Nearshoring increasingly important

Antonius is a supplier with a global presence. We continue to supply our products worldwide. However, we also see that – under pressure from faltering logistics chains, CO₂ taxes associated with logistics movements, and geopolitical influences – more and more clients are looking for partners and suppliers “closer to home.” This shift is a trend and means that an increasing proportion of our turnover comes from the EU.

pressure equipment manufacturers very active

The energy sector and other sectors such as food are innovating vigorously. Equipment manufacturers play an important role in innovation. However, the gap between innovation and engineering on the one hand and production on the other is also increasing. Thinking up ideas is, of course, an important driver of innovation, but manufacturing feasibility (manufacturability) is what drives real progress. We at Antonius are at that intersection and often think along in an early stage. We call this “manufacturing for progress,” and fortunately, we see that more and more innovators are finding us.

Antonius at full strength with new colleagues

In September 2022, we had 13 vacancies, and they have all been filled! This concerned about 10 vacancies in production and 3 vacancies in our office. It was not easy to fill all these positions, but thanks to the great commitment of our partners, we succeeded. Some of our new colleagues will meet our customers soon. I am pleased that, despite the intense competition in the labor market, we are always able to attract good people because you can really make a difference at Antonius. We are well-regarded in the region as a great employer, which makes us very proud.

Trade fair participation: World Hydrogen 2023 summit & exhibition

We will be attending the Hydrogen 2023 event in Rotterdam, booth B54, with a large team. This exhibition will last for three days, from May 9th to 11th, and will bring together everything related to hydrogen. The second topic at the exhibition is carbon capture. Both are extremely current topics, and Antonius wants to play an increasingly important role in storage. With our location and machine park we are able to handle big size objects and we can be an interesting partner for everyone who is active with Carbon Capture and Storage projects.

Like the rest of the world, we do not know exactly what everything will look like in the future, but this is precisely why we want to stay informed now. We look forward to engaging with the stakeholders and building the future together. We have written a whitepaper on this subject, which can be downloaded here:

If you are active in hydrogen or carbon capture and looking for a production partner, we would be happy to schedule a meeting (at the summit)!

Raw material prices are stabilizing.

We previously discussed the stability, which also stems from raw material prices. Of course, these still fluctuate, but much less so than in the recent past. We are seeing a relatively stable market, which is great for everyone in the supply chain. The price of stainless steel is 30% higher than pre-corona, but it was even higher before.

Finally, I am very positive. We are seeing a nice upward trend and have a great customer portfolio and a full order book. I am proud of our team, with whom we navigated through the turbulent times, and I also want to express my gratitude to our existing and new customers who made this possible. Of course, we still have challenges, such as the cost and availability of energy, but I am confident that despite the challenges, we will make great progress.

Rob Derix Antonius