Plant equipment manufacturer Bühler advances sustainability and innovation across food and materials sectors despite challenging global market conditions

Swiss plant equipment manufacturer Bühler has built its business around the production of solutions for the food and advanced materials industries.

The company operates across more than 140 countries and drives innovation in sectors including animal feed, confectionery, cosmetics and electronics.

Its newly published 2025 Annual Report, Multiplying Impact Together, details the company’s progress in advancing performance, profitability and sustainability throughout the year.

Navigating global market challenges

Throughout 2025, Bühler says it worked to maintain resilience and adaptability while facing global challenges, using its portfolio of products and services to create long-term value.

According to the report, the company strengthened its ecosystem through strategic investments in manufacturing, digital services, education and innovation.

Outgoing Chairman Calvin Grieder and outgoing CEO Stefan Scheiber explained that 2025 was marked by uncertainty that led to ongoing market volatility. Increasing trade barriers and a cautious investment climate shaped the global investment goods landscape, they said.

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However, Bühler continued to invest throughout this period. The company’s extensive and innovative product range, combined with strong customer service and worldwide presence, enabled it to capture opportunities in growing markets and expand its market share in key business segments.

The company also progressed its AI capabilities and enhanced its digital and automation services for customer benefit. Grieder and Scheiber attributed these achievements to the company’s focus on cost discipline and productivity improvement, which helped improve profitability and the balance sheet.

Despite the challenging economic environment, Bühler’s strategic approach enabled the company to maintain operational excellence while positioning itself for future growth.

Performance across business divisions

The Annual Report outlines Bühler’s success across key sectors, demonstrating how the company positioned itself to remain in a robust financial position.

The portfolio of solutions provided the foundation for market strength in 2025, with its two business divisions reflecting their respective market dynamics.

Bühler’s Grains & Food business gained market share across several segments, while its Advanced Materials business continued to face challenges from the global slowing of automotive and battery markets.

Following two years of restrained investment in chocolate and coffee due to record-high cocoa prices, 2025 saw new investments in local cocoa processing facilities. This development allowed Bühler’s Chocolate & Coffee segment to achieve a 31% rise in order intake.

Although Advanced Materials experienced a decline in orders, Bühler secured new projects across all of its materials business areas. This sector faced significant impact in 2025 from weak investment activity in the automotive sector, uncertainties across Europe and increased competition in China.

Environmental progress and goals

In 2025, Bühler achieved a 19% reduction in energy consumption compared to its 2019 baseline. The company also recorded a 30% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions over the same time frame.

A core element of the sustainability strategy involves using land-sparing technologies to work against biodiversity loss and climate change. The company aims to achieve this through building a sustainable protein supply and increasing the circularity of biomass.

With Bühler’s solutions helping to feed an estimated 2 billion people, the company is enabling its customers to reduce their environmental footprint through product use. This involves developing solutions and services that improve efficiency and yield whilst reducing energy, waste and water use.

Bühler aims to optimise the entire value chain of its offerings, from raw materials through to the end product. The company works to reduce its footprint through collaboration with suppliers, creating a roadmap to guide this work. Activities include launching engagement campaigns, collecting data on supplier emissions and targets and assessing climate monitoring progress.

Jay O’Nien, Group Sustainability Officer at Bühler, said on LinkedIn that sustainability has been a company-wide effort at Bühler for many years. “There is much to do, but we are in a strong position to support more companies to achieve their business and sustainability goals and to ensure the sustainability of our own operations,” he said.