Sandvik Machining Solutions

2018 was another strong year for Sandvik Machining Solutions, with record-high order intake, revenues and operating profit. The solid market growth came from all geographical areas and industry segments.

Business area Sandvik Machining Solutions is a market leading manufacturer of tools and tooling systems for advanced metal cutting. Revenues come from inserts (58 percent), round tools (20 percent), tool holders (13 percent) and tooling systems (8 percent). The business area comprises several market-leading brands that offer their own products and services, such as Sandvik Coromant, Seco, Dormer Pramet and Walter. In 2018, a new division was introduced: Applied Manufacturing Technologies, which complements our core machining divisions and helps us expand within digital manufacturing to further strengthen our customer offering. As of January 1, 2019 the Powder division was moved to the business area from Sandvik Materials Technology, for further growth and synergies with the additive manufacturing business.

Market 2018

The year started with good momentum carried over from 2017 with strong growth in all geographic regions. Things slowed down somewhat in the second half of 2018 with slightly lower growth rates in the global automotive and aerospace industries. Meanwhile, both the oil and gas and machinery sectors had stable growth, but at lower levels compared to 2017.

Cutting tools were particularly strong in the Americas in 2018 showing double-digit growth throughout the year. Asia Pacific had high-pace growth in the first six months, while China slowed down in the last half of the year. Both Japan and India were more stable, closing the year with double-digit growth. The cutting tool market in Europe continued to show healthy growth throughout 2018 with strong performance in most markets. Among the market growth leaders were Sweden, followed by Italy and the Czech Republic.