Mutual Understanding and Holistic Solutions

You are also the managing director of the subsidiaries HELU Connectivity Solutions Haan and Bielefeld (previously EKD Systems and Sangel Systemtechnik). Both have been a part of the HELUKABEL Group for about three years, and with their recent renaming, the integration process has been completed. What exactly did this entail?

Both companies have been active on the market for a long time, are experts in their fields, have long histories, and have extensive know-how, especially when it comes to knowing what products their customers need. With this integration, we wanted to also integrate their wealth of knowledge into the entire HELUKABEL Group, giving the us all an even better understanding of what it means to develop holistic solutions, and allowing us to offer our customers even more value. To that end, we're aiming to adjust our portfolio and really harmonise the different products the companies of our group offer, like cables, assemblies, and drag chains, and to make it all work together as well as it can. This benefits not just us, but also our customers most importantly. We are able to supply them with perfectly tuned complete systems.

Through these acquisitions, HELUKABEL has significantly expanded its portfolio and strengthened its position as a supplier of electrical connection technology systems. What does this mean for the company and for the customers?

For us, this means that we need to really think about our products. We need to coordinate with each other as to which technological challenges and market tendencies there are that we need to adapt to, and how we can develop a holistic system out of this knowledge. For the customer, this means they can trust that they will receive a high-quality and custom solution from us. It will also be easier for them as they will now only have a single contact person for electrical connection technology instead of two or more. On the sales side of things, we want to embody the principle of "one face to the customer". At the same time, on a product level, we want to assist our customers with our expertise and offer them the best-possible, most optimally tuned, and reliable system solutions.

Going forward, HELUKABEL aims to increasingly offer its customers comprehensive solutions. In your opinion, what is the difference between products and solutions, and what makes the solutions business so special?

The difference between products and solutions is that with solutions, we, as well as the customer, need to invest more time at the beginning. We aim to really understand the customer's needs. This, of course, requires a certain amount of effort, especially with complex jobs. But in the end, we both get something from it. We can optimally align ourselves with our customers and provide solutions that are individually tailored to their needs, and the customer has the certainty that we are able to manufacture these solutions, retain their designs, and can deliver them when and where the customer needs, anywhere in the world. For us, it doesn't matter where the customer's next project is taking shape. We will provide them service, wherever they need it. And I'd say we're second to none at that.

If you want to be a global leader, you need to be on the forefront of technology. How do you manage to keep pace with the ever-accelerating development and the high, industry-specific demands of your customers?

If you look at how HELUKABEL has developed, you'll see that we have brought many veritable industry experts on board. In my opinion, this is a very important step to take if you want to stay at the front of the pack. These colleagues help us to better understand the different markets and adapt to technological advancements early. Our goal is to set up a so-called "Early Involvement" system with our customers, which will involve us in technological developments at an earlier stage. This will then allow us to offer suitable products and solutions for innovative technologies. We are also concentrating on committee work, to, for instance, play an active role in the standardisation process.

In your opinion, which sectors or issues have the most future potential for HELUKABEL? And what innovations does the company have in the pipeline that you could maybe share a little bit about?

We are focusing primarily on the current mega trends, such as automation, the transition to renewable energies, infrastructure, or mobility. I think big data is also a very important topic, especially the question as to how we all can better understand this ever-more networked world of ours. HELUKABEL needs to make use of specifically this enormous potential to separate us from the masses. The transition to renewable energies is also an especially important subject for us. We have developed a comprehensive portfolio of products related to the areas of energy production and distribution, e-mobility, and charging infrastructure. In addition to this, we are working on expanding our portfolio for the automation sector, so that every customer can easily find the right product with us. For example, we recently presented a new drag chain at the Hannover Messe that is both exceptionally robust, but also quick and easy to install. The development of this drag chain required the invention of brand-new technologies, never before seen on the market. And we want to continue on this path of continual development going into the future.

A successful solution ideally means that we have a satisfied customer. What makes a workday a success to you?

I am always happy when are able to satisfy a customer, and we were able to develop a solution together that they really value. Our goal is to help our customer by simplifying things without cutting corners, whether it's in procurement or in the practical implementation of certain functions or processes. If we can manage this, then I too can go home happy and satisfied.