Wain – 10th February 2020 – Mr. Müller, häwa looks back at a successful business year 2019. What do you think were the most important success factors of the last year?
The last business year was extremely exciting and challenging and we owe our success mainly to the excellent work of our staff members. We always focus on meeting our customer requirements and demands and in return our customers place their trust in us, appreciate our reliability, our high level of professionalism, our requirement-oriented production as well as our punctuality in project implementation.
Last year, we concentrated our efforts on adapting häwa to the changed market situation and on developing what has always distinguished us from our competitors: being innovative, continuous development and above all our personal contact to those who deal with our products every day.
In many sectors there are signs of an economic slowdown. What steps will you take to master the current year successfully and profitably?
Although the prospects for economic growth degraded also in our sector, we expect a positive year 2020. We are open for new ventues and will focus on those sectors which we expect will further expand, including the building automation, medical technology and the packaging and food industries. As a single source, we will provide everything from conception and design to production and logistics. This distinguishes us from our competitors and will help us to strengthen our economic position in the future. In the beginning of the new year we were already able to successfully implement the first interesting projects. Furthermore, the whole team is highly motivated – and everyone knows, this motivation is the key to the success of being better than others.
How important are the regional roots of häwa in this case?
Regional roots play a major role and are a decisive factor for the success of our company. ”Made in Germany“ is actually more important than ever. Our Swabian virtues such as diligence, creativity and innovation help us to remain successful in the tense market. Our customers appreciate our constantly high degree of quality as well as our reliability and flexibility in implementing customized solutions. Whether in Germany, Europe, the USA or anywhere else in the world, we are always close to our customers. I’m convinced that our decentralized-regional position is exactly the reason why our customers do not only appreciate our products, but also value our comprehensive support from the first conversation to the final delivery. Comprehensive, personal support and professional know-how are always the focus, when you call häwa.
What innovations do you plan for 2020?
If I revealed our innovations in advance, they would no longer be surprising. But I can reveal the following: In 2020 we will amaze our customers with our innovative sensor-operated LED lights, with interesting new products of our tooling assortment, and our X-frame machine rack system will correspond to the UL regulations. But I hope that you will understand that I cannot reveal any more details today.
Mr. Müller, if you were Minister for Economic Affairs, which impetus would you consider necessary?
I highly respect the work of our Minister for Economic Affairs and I would not presume to think of a reversal of roles. But if he asked me, I would advise him to pay great attention to Germany’s energy security in the medium and above all – in the long term. In an increasingly digitized world, I think we should more than ever before, take advantage of the technological transformation and focus on an increased digitalization and reduced bureaucracy. The subject of protectionism in the foreign trade business is more topical than ever. Based on this situation, I think facilitating the export, the removal of trade barriers as well as the availability of well-trained specialists on the labor market are important factors which shall be implemented. My colleagues from medium-sized production companies will certainly agree with me.
Final question: What are your plans for häwa for the next 5 years? Can you submit a company forecast for 2025?
In five years, häwa will have significantly expanded manufacturing capacities and a standardized use of new technologies. We have already completed the plans for the new paint shop in Wain and in the long term, we also plan to expand the capacities at the Bad Wörishofen location step by step. Our continuously trained specialists and our highly developed outside sales force will enhance our competitiveness and strengthen our market position.
