New Chair of the Board of Directors and stable fiscal year at maxon

The Braun family that owns the maxon Group is undergoing a generational change. Dr. Karl-Walter Braun will remain on the Board of Directors, but will relinquish the chairmanship. His daughter Dr. Bianca Braun is now taking over.

Those who work at maxon often remain loyal to the company for many years. The average length of service in the Swiss maxon companies is just over nine years. The main shareholder of the maxon Group, Dr. Karl-Walter Braun, also contributes to this cut: He officially joined the company in 1977 and will be able to celebrate his 49th year of service in 2026; last year he also celebrated his 80th birthday.

Now the time has come for him to drive forward the generational change in the company. As of June 2026, he will hand over the chairmanship of the Board of Directors to his daughter Dr. Bianca Braun, but will remain a member of the Board of Directors. Dr. Karl-Walter Braun: "A successful generational change cannot be taken for granted. I am very pleased that Bianca is now moving up. She has the right skill set to do so and has known the company from different perspectives for many years."

Bianca Braun helped out in maxon's production departments before and during her studies. She has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2007, and from 2012 she took on operational responsibility as Head of Group Audit and Consulting. 

Bianca Braun, born in 1978, spent her school years in Obwalden and Zug. She studied Technology Management at the University of St. Gallen and wrote her doctorate on family-run companies. Dr. Bianca Braun: "Family-run companies are a model for success, and maxon is the best example of this – because we think long-term. That was also the motto of my father, who prudently developed the company and, together with the management, led it to its current size. I want to continue on this course and at the same time set new accents."

There is another change on the Board of Directors of the maxon Group: Kurt Kwapil is stepping down from the board after 14 years. The Board of Directors thanks him for his commitment and wishes him all the best.

maxon Group keeps sales stable in 2025 

Financially, the maxon Group can look back on a stable fiscal year. Annual sales amounted to CHF 595.2 million, which corresponds to a small increase of 0.1 percent compared to the previous year (previous year: CHF 594.7 million). Operating cash flow amounted to CHF 75.5 million in the past financial year (previous year: CHF 73.9 million).

The result was influenced by the strong Swiss franc. Currency-related sales losses amounted to CHF 20.2 million in 2025. Over the last three years, currency losses totalled CHF 68.2 million. The maxon Group expects the upward pressure on the Swiss franc to continue.

Employees had to be flexible

Geopolitical circumstances also shaped the annual result. Last year, for example, maxon was concerned about the availability of rare earth magnets from China. Since China had temporarily ordered export controls on these magnets, the supply situation was very different, which led to fluctuating production utilization. In the meantime, the situation has eased again. In addition, maxon was also temporarily affected by the US tariffs. Thanks to the high proportion of customers from the medical sector, which is exempt from the customs regime, maxon was less affected than other Swiss industrial companies.

By sales area, sales were maintained or improved with a few exceptions. In the Americas, sales remained similar last year at CHF 181.7 million (previous year: CHF 181.8 million), in Europe they fell to CHF 283.8 million (previous year: CHF 294.0 million), and in Asia and Oceania, sales increased to CHF 128.9 million (previous year: CHF 118.4 million).

maxon continues to invest consistently in research and development. Compared to 2024, expenditure increased slightly to CHF 52.4 million (previous year: CHF 47.8 million), which corresponds to 8.8 percent of sales.

In 2025, the maxon Group shipped a total of 4.6 million products (previous year: 4.9 million, -6.2 percent). The number of full-time employees rose slightly to 2985 (previous year: 2947.2, +1.3 percent); a total of 3197 people worked for maxon worldwide at the end of 2025. 

Eugen Elmiger, CEO of the maxon Group, was satisfied with the result achieved. "Of course, we would prefer to grow, but 2025 was a challenging year for us, and that's why we're happy that we were able to maintain sales." The U.S. tariffs and the supply problems with the magnets had demanded a lot from maxon employees. "From management to the production line, flexibility was required because we always had to react quickly to the changing situation," says Elmiger. Once again, it has been shown that maxon employees lend a hand when necessary. "I am extremely grateful for this, because supplying our customers is always our top priority," says Elmiger.

Main shareholder Dr. Karl-Walter Braun is also satisfied. The maxon Group still has virtually no bank debt and a decent liquidity reserve: "However, maxon will continue to plan cautiously and we will have to continue to react flexibly to changing situations."

The maxon Group remains cautiously optimistic for the current year. Orders have risen significantly since the beginning of the year. The higher demand is particularly noticeable in the Aerospace, Mobility, Medical and Robotics business units. With integrated drive units, intelligent motion control solutions and complete mechatronic systems, maxon is increasingly evolving from a component supplier to a system partner. Accordingly, additional production capacities are being built up in several areas.

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About maxon: The Swiss Specialist for Quality Drives

maxon is a leading supplier of precision electric motors and drive systems, developing solutions tailored to the needs of customers in the medical, industrial automation, aerospace, mobility, and robotics sectors. Founded in 1961, the Swiss company is owned by the Braun family and is headquartered in Sachseln (canton of Obwalden). The maxon Group employs around 3200 people at eleven production sites worldwide and is represented in over 40 countries.