The company group supported the expansion of production capacity with total investments of € 744 m, compared to € 631 m of the previous year. On the total amount of investment the most significant part (€ 660 m) was focused on property, plant and equipment (mainly in Italy, Germany, Poland, Canada and Luxembourg. The staff at 31 August 2017 amounted to 34.543 employees, an increase compared to the 32.990 in 2016.