When Till Reuter became chief executive at Kuka 16 months ago, the mood at one of the world’s largest industrial robot producers by sales was gloomy. Kuka was slashing costs and firing non-permanent workers amid a revenue drop of about 30 per cent.

Today, Kuka’s chief executive is as far from crisis mode as one could possibly get. In the third quarter, the Bavarian group’s robotics unit registered order income at an all-time high.

The main Augsburg plant is running at full speed, and Kuka has started to increase production in China to meet surging demand in developing countries. “The car sector and its suppliers have already spent above-average on plant and equipment in the past year. At the end of 2010, a broader range of industrial companies has started to step up such investments,” Mr Reuter says. Car, chemical and electronic equipment makers are at the forefront of this sudden investment spree in Europe’s largest economy, which powered ahead with growth of 3.6 per cent last year.