Are you being serviced?
September 1st 2009 SSI Schaefer UK boss, Jaap Vos, says the firm
will not use recession as an excuse to buy
contracts,because there is still good business
to be won – and Schaefer is recruiting as a
result.Brendan Coyne reports
Jaap Vos has steered SSI Schaefer UK through the last couple
of years following his appointment as UK general manager;
a period which has left virtually no business unscathed.
According to Vos, market contraction became really noticeable
this time last year – when the Euro exchange rate nose-dived and
steel prices increased steeply. But the firm's diversity has afforded
some level of protection: "Where some sectors have been under
pressure, other areas, such as automation, have performed well,"
says Vos. "As a result we have increased our service capabilities,
appointing an additional five service people."
And after a tough year, there are signs that some of the
struggling sectors – such as the traditional storage catalogue
business – are beginning to recover.
"Most SEMA members are saying the same thing. It's been
pretty bad but seems to be stabilising. I'd like to think that's a
positive sign."Vos admits though, that customers planning their
summer holidays may be behind the spike. Nevertheless, he says
the downturn has given the company increased impetus to hone
internal processes.
"We made a few personnel shifts but not retrenched anybody,
which is because we are still winning good quality contracts.We
will not purchase projects just to land the business. That is a very
stable message – we have actually hired half a dozen people this
year and have the platform to attack when people start spending."
The bulk of those recruits are service engineers. As a result,
Vos says customers are taking a keener interest in discussing
service contracts – hence the team hitting target with half a year
to spare. But Schaefer may need to recruit more: Vos claims that
the service team is "fully booked for the remainder of the year".
From an automation background with Vanderlande
Industries, Vos' appointment at the Andover HQ was to grow
automation business. But he's keen to stress that Schaefer, as a
full line manufacturer and supplier, has specialists in every field.
"We don't send salesmen into a company to say 'we can sell you
everything'.We go in, define their requirement and send in the
relevant specialist."He says the fact that Schaefer makes all of its
equipment in European factories also reassures customers that
the firm will be there for the foreseeable future.
That trust, says Vos, is key to its current automation strategy:
to supply modular equipment with defined capabilities at a
transparent price, with a clear upgrade path. "It's very clear to the
client what they get for their money, and it enables them to plan
for the future," says Vos. "They might need 'option one' now, and
they can see what 'option three' will do for them in future, how
much it will cost, and how to plan for it."
While Vos believes the recession is bottoming out and that
spending will eventually return to previous levels, he says
Schaefer's modular approach is geared around the fact that
market dynamics have changed: "It is no longer a case of
throwing people and space at problems, moving in and out of
sheds at the drop of a hat; customers will just optimise what they
already have. And that is the direction we are heading in."
New products and new markets
Schaefer has recently introduced a number of new products: a new
silent conveying system designed to reduce noise levels across an
entire conveying system; a new, dynamic flow control system to
overcome stop-start of transported goods at merge points which
contributes to noise reduction and improves throughput by up to 25
per cent; and a new mobile shelving system for document storage.
Vos says the latter, officially launching in October, opens up new
markets, primarily within the public sector, which is currently
insulated against the economic downturn.
New products and new markets
Schaefer has recently introduced a number of new products: a new
silent conveying system designed to reduce noise levels across an
entire conveying system; a new, dynamic flow control system to
overcome stop-start of transported goods at merge points which
contributes to noise reduction and improves throughput by up to 25
per cent; and a new mobile shelving system for document storage.
Vos says the latter, officially launching in October, opens up new
markets, primarily within the public sector, which is currently
insulated against the economic downturn.
Show me the money!
Vos says one thing the recession has changed is payment terms.
"Some of the larger corporates that we deal with just send an
automated note saying that payment terms are no longer 30 days,
but 60, and that's it, you have to live with it," says Vos. "That
impact on cashflow has made us much sharper about getting paid
on time. In the old days, when a 30 day invoice was taking 45 days,
we might say 'oh well, he's a trusted client and good for the money'.
Whereas now when 60 days becomes 61 days we have a pitbull in
the office that immediately starts barking..." More articles from SSI Schaefer Ltd: | 
