Kistler Group's New CEO Marc Schaad Focusing on Emerging Sectors

Summary

February 2025 - The Kistler Group achieved sales of 448 million Swiss francs in 2024 and boosted its order intake by 3% in Swiss francs or 8% in local currencies. This means that the prior year’s level was maintained after adjustments for currency effects; in Swiss francs, the sales figure corresponds to a decrease of 3.5%.

Business development was influenced by global geopolitical and economic challenges such as the flagging automotive market and the strong Swiss franc. Marc Schaad, Kistler’s new CEO, intends to generate positive momentum by focusing more intensively on the company's core competencies.

As the new year of 2025 dawned, the Kistler Group was preparing for a new chapter in its long history: after 22 years at the helm, the Kistler Group’s owner Rolf Sonderegger handed over operational management to Marc Schaad, who had been its CTO for many years until then. This change at the highest level is accompanied by an adaptation of the Group that will align the business even more precisely to a vast range of diverse customer requirements in its various markets. Amid a persistently challenging economic environment, Kistler’s new CEO Marc Schaad is building on the company's core competency. Going forward, Kistler intends to continue drawing on its expertise to provide leading products and solutions for the entire measurement chain – from sensor to cloud. Kistler technology ensures innovations and seamless production processes in both traditional and emerging industries.

Mixed prospects for regions and industries

The Kistler Group expects modest sales growth in 2025, because its global presence–with growing markets in Asia, the USA, and Southern and Eastern Europe–will compensate for the stagnating situation in the DACH region. “Because we operate globally, and thanks to our extremely diversified product portfolio catering to numerous industries, we’re able to cushion fluctuations in individual markets. We anticipate that further targeted investments in emerging sectors–such as medical technology, aerospace, or transportation and infrastructure–will allow us to put our sales distribution on a broader footing. Until now, the automotive sector has accounted for around half of our sales,” Marc Schaad noted.

One element of the strategy, among others, is to drive the use of artificial intelligence ahead. AI is already included in products for monitoring infrastructure or plastic injection molding, for example. In the future, moreover, in-house processes are also set to be optimized with the help of AI.
 

About the Kistler Group

Kistler is the global market leader for dynamic pressure, force, torque and acceleration measurement technology. Cutting-edge technologies provide the basis for Kistler’s modular solutions. Customers in industry and scientific research benefit from Kistler’s experience as a development partner, enabling them to optimize their products and processes so as to secure sustainable competitive edge. Unique sensor technology from this Swiss corporation helps to shape future innovations not only in automotive development and industrial automation but also in many newly emerging sectors. Drawing on our extensive application expertise, and always with an absolute commitment to quality, Kistler plays a key part in the ongoing development of the latest megatrends. The focus is on issues such as electrified drive technology, autonomous driving, emission reduction and Industry 4.0. Some 2,000 employees at more than 60 facilities across the globe are dedicated to the development of new solutions, and they offer application-specific services at the local level. Ever since it was founded in 1959, the Kistler Group has grown hand-in-hand with its customers and in 2024, it posted sales of mCHF 448. About 9 percent of this figure is reinvested in research and technology–with the aim of delivering innovative solutions for every customer.