Festo, the German pneumatic automation supplier, appears to be bucking the industry gloom. At a time when the global pneumatics market is contracting by about 5% a year, Festo has reported record sales of €1,200m and is claiming a European market share of 32% - more than twice that of its nearest rival.

In the UK, Festo says its has boosted its revenue by more than 10% in the past year, and has invested 4.5% of its turnover in an improved IT infrastructure.

Festo, a privately owned family business, re-invests around 6.6% of its turnover in research and development. It has recently opened a £27m technology centre in Stuttgart which includes a permanent exhibition as well as r&d facilities.

The company, which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, now has 52 subsidiaries and ten factories around the world. Its product portfolio includes more than 16,400 individual items and several hundred thousand variants.