A retrospective, insight and outlook

Annual Report 2022

The year 2022 was a special one, not only because we were celebrating Fichtner’s 100th anniversary. It was a year in which so much happened, began or changed that has had a lasting impact on us – on the world, people and also the infrastructure issues we deal with every day. I have compiled some observations on trends, important projects and insights from them, and on facts and figures that not only reflect the past Fichtner year but also provide a glimpse into the future.

Fichtner Annual Report 2022

The year 2022 was a special one, not only because we were celebrating Fichtner’s 100th anniversary. It was a year in which so much happened, began or changed that has had a lasting impact on us – on the world, people and also the infrastructure issues we deal with every day. I have compiled some observations on trends, important projects and insights from them, and on facts and figures that not only reflect the past Fichtner year but also provide a glimpse into the future.

A retrospective, insight and outlook

What a Year It Was

Looking back, there was the end of Covid, a turning point and a war in Europe, increasing climate change and growing energy problems, critical infrastructure and struggling digital strategies… headlines that have been thrust into our focus, whether we like it or not. Yes, there have been simpler times. But as always, current problems have a tendency to act like a burning glass on issues that were previously neglected – or were assessed differently.

100 Jahre fest mit Ballone

100th Anniversary

A Special Summer Party

Putting Our Own House in Order

As a company, you know the problem all too well. No matter how urgent an issue, there are two more important ones, and no matter how important an issue, there are two more urgent ones. But because “just carrying on as usual” is not an option, Fichtner took the milestone of its 100th anniversary as an opportunity to look ahead and break with cherished “traditions” to do so. One specific example is this blog article. As nice as a printed annual report was, it was time for a break, for communication reasons as well as environmental ones. So from now on, we will be using the Fichtner blog as a medium for topical discussions on issues and projects, on technical and human aspects – for a more international, more interactive and more informative approach. In conjunction with social media, above all LinkedIn, the blog will increasingly be a sign of change and our contemporary communicative contribution to it. Here’s to year 101 onwards!

Milestones

A Look Back and Ahead

We are looking back on 100 years of Fichtner and have dedicated a blog post to our company history. At the same time, however, we would like to always look ahead: to the milestones that will be set in the coming decades, that will set the course and accompany us into the future.

Hände symbolisieren einen Meilenstein

Infrastructure Issues – A Trend?

Back to the “big issues”. The critical infrastructure already mentioned above is certainly not the only infrastructure issue that needs to be scrutinized. Especially in Germany, many topics have been debated without significantly increasing the pressure to take action. And so all of us – our clients and we as service providers – are heading for ever-growing challenges. One of the biggest at the moment is:

Staff Shortages

Now, staff are certainly not considered infrastructure, but a shortage of them leads to an exacerbation of the same problems. And there are hardly any sectors, industries or markets that it does not affect. Various factors are increasingly multiplying into one big, all-encompassing evil, that being demographic change, especially in the Western world. Declining attractiveness of technical degree programs and industrial apprenticeships. A changing work-life attitude and balance among younger generations. Major transformation processes in industry to cope with the energy transition require more staff, who simply do not exist in terms of numbers and expertise.

What That Means for Fichtner

Clearly, it means being a good, safe, reliable and attractive employer for our employees. Providing exciting and varied projects, fostering human interaction, broadening interdisciplinary experiences, and offering sustainable personal careers. Arguments that I think are very much in favor of Fichtner, our size, structure, internationality, values and convictions, and of course our breadth and depth of content.

Key To Change

Future-oriented and capable infrastructure is and remains the prerequisite for solving numerous problems, and particularly for coping with the energy transition. The transformation brought about by the decentralization of power generation, the radical expansion and upgrade of power and gas grids, the interconnection of systems, and advancing digitization are prompting us to explore exciting new avenues in order to achieve even ambitious energy goals. Resource-friendly solutions are obligatory for all areas covered by Fichtner: the energy sector, water supply and sanitation, environment and recycling.

Leading, Also in Issues for the Future

Another issue for the future involves hydrogen – as a basis for transforming industry, building sustainable industrial value chains and, last but not least, opening up new options in the field of sustainable mobility. Here, too, Fichtner benefits from its knowledge and experience in all subject and application areas: renewable energies, power grids, heat, transport, process engineering, water treatment and IT.

Better Infrastructure Is Climate Protection

In many regions of the world, we have to increasingly expect longer dry spells, cope with low annual precipitation and learn to deal with heavy rainfall. This calls for new ways of thinking to enable us to make more effective use of water and wastewater, while ensuring an economically viable water supply.

The complexity of all these tasks requires systemic approaches. For this to succeed, independent consulting services are called for, which Fichtner can provide, employing innovative and integral approaches that transcend system boundaries and enable sustainable economic activity. Our aspiration and our strength lie in precisely this intelligent combination of all expertise to create a sustainably better overall solution.

A Brief Conclusion

2022 was a year that showed us how quickly times are changing and how critical it will be to respond just as quickly. Unfortunately, time does not heal all wounds. They are best healed together.

This Is Shown by Our Highlight Projects in 2022

From the many projects that Fichtner supported, managed or oversaw worldwide over the past year in its Energy, Renewable Energies & Environment, Water & Infrastructure, and Consulting & IT business sectors, I would like to highlight the following ones. Each one describes a particular task and tells a special story. At the same time, they combine to provide an overall impression of what makes Fichtner so unique. I will limit myself to a short introduction for each of them. Each project has a blog article dedicated to it, which you can then access directly with one click.

ProVAN Grid Expansion Projects

Energy Transition Along TenneT’s Grid Territory

ProVAN is about driving forward the energy transition by means of 17 overhead line and cable projects currently being carried out by TenneT over a length of hundreds of kilometers. Scheduled for a project duration of 13 years, the overhead line projects run from the north to the south of Germany. ProVAN also incorporates Fichtner’s planning, consulting and implementation know-how – delivered on a broad basis of cooperation by more than 60 Fichtner employees.

NeuConnect – An Interconnector Project Between the UK and Germany

A Flagship Project of the Energy Transition

The fact that His Majesty King Charles III mentioned NeuConnect during his speech in the German parliament on 30 March 2023, as did German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Bellevue Palace, clearly illustrates the relevance of this project. The first, direct electricity link between the UK and Germany, two of Europe’s largest energy markets, is a key project, also for Fichtner.

Großbritannien und Europa bei Nacht

Municipal Infrastructure in Georgia

Sustainable Water Supply

Georgia is a fantastically beautiful country, and municipal infrastructure projects are in many respects an important means of keeping it that way. One such project is currently underway to modernize the aging and, in some cases, lacking municipal infrastructure for water supply and wastewater treatment. Since 2022, we have been assisting the state-owned water utility United Water Supply Company of Georgia (UWSCG) with investment and modernization measures.

Municipal Infrastructure in Georgia

Sustainable Water Supply

Georgia is a fantastically beautiful country, and municipal infrastructure projects are in many respects an important means of keeping it that way. One such project is currently underway to modernize the aging and, in some cases, lacking municipal infrastructure for water supply and wastewater treatment. Since 2022, we have been assisting the state-owned water utility United Water Supply Company of Georgia (UWSCG) with investment and modernization measures.

Paldiski Pumped Storage Power Plant, Estonia

How a Hydropower Plant Is Turned Upside Down

Not just rethinking but turning the plant upside down is an innovative idea for meeting the demand for storage capacities as renewable energies are expanded. To find out how it works, why it is a forward-looking concept, and what key tasks Fichtner is handling to help make it a success, read about why the Paldiski project in the Baltic Sea offers a new opportunity for numerous regions.

Olkaria Geothermal Power Plant, Kenya

Green power from hot springs

If you guess that “hot natural energy source in Africa” is referring to the sun, you’d be way off the mark in this particular case. Because not all good things come from above: In the case of the Olkaria I Geothermal Power Plant in Kenya, it actually comes from very deep underground. This is an interesting story about sustainable energy supply and climate protection in Africa.

The Fichtner Group in 2022

Optimistically Through Challenging Times

2022 was not an easy year. High inflation, high energy prices and geopolitical uncertainties weakened economic momentum in Germany. Under those circumstances, the Fichtner Group closed the 2022 financial year with a good overall performance. All planned values for order intake, gross operating revenues, earnings before taxes, and headcount were exceeded. In terms of gross operating revenues, we recorded a year-on-year increase of 17.0%. All four of our business sectors achieved growth, and our global headcount rose by 130 to 2,011 in 2022.

17

Percent

Increase in gross operating revenues

294

Million euros

Order intake

2.011

Number of

Employees

The Fichtner Group in 2022

Optimistically Through Challenging Times

2022 was not an easy year. High inflation, high energy prices and geopolitical uncertainties weakened economic momentum in Germany. Under those circumstances, the Fichtner Group closed the 2022 financial year with a good overall performance. All planned values for order intake, gross operating revenues, earnings before taxes, and headcount were exceeded. In terms of gross operating revenues, we recorded a year-on-year increase of 17.0%. All four of our business sectors achieved growth, and our global headcount rose by 130 to 2,011 in 2022.

17

Percent

Increase in gross operating revenues

294

Million euros

Order intake

2011

Number of

Employees

Fichtner Is One of the Best Management Consultants in the Energy Industry

It’s always good to finish on a high note: The Handelsblatt Research Institute (HRI) has identified the most renowned consulting firms in 22 consulting fields. Fichtner Management Consulting (FMC) was voted Top Consultancy 2022 in the energy industry. For the ranking, a peer group of 15,815 management consultants from 320 consulting firms was identified and asked about the most renowned companies in their consulting fields. The top list is the result of that survey.

We are very pleased to receive this accolade and to be recognized for our trusting cooperation with our clients. This is a fine way to round off our anniversary year, while also demonstrating how intensively and successfully Fichtner and its employees are working to help shape the future.

July 2023

Fichtner CEO Dr. Andreas Weidler

Dr. Andreas Weidler

Managing Director and CEO

Categories: Company|

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