Five questions - five answers: A talk with Simon Kirchenbauer
Question 1:
Simon, congratulations on the new position. You have been working in technical sales at Weber Ultrasonics since 2015. How did you prepare for your new role?
Answer 1:
Before I officially took over the job, the IHK sales manager training course was on the agenda. The content of this course focused on the sales organization structure, personality development as a manager, sales management and key performance key figures, as well as teaching the pillars of modern leadership. Basically, it was also about gaining new perspectives andfood for thought to be able to introduce and implement these in my new role at Weber.
Question 2:
What is the initial situation at Weber Ultrasonics for your start?
Answer 2:
The last few years have been turbulent, partly due to the coronavirus pandemic, and
characterized by several internal department relocations and restructuring. Due to the move to the new building in Becker-Göring-Strasse, we have now also been able to create a stable basis for the coming years. The merging of the departments which were previously housed at different locations, is entirely positive. It promotes the understanding and simplifies many processes and communication considerably.
The proximity and short distances that have now been created between sales, assembly, technical design, application technology and R&D create synergies and help to incorporate the needs of customers into the next product generations.
Question 3:
What are the goals for this year? Which applications are the focus on?
Answer 3:
We currently want to focus on our core competencies and complete the product portfolio in this area with what is missing and, of course, expand it in the medium term. As a result, continuous welding technology and nonwovens applications will no longer be actively developed and marketed.
In the area of plant engineering, the focus is on standard welding machines and compact special solutions, in which ultrasound is always the core process. In future, we want to realize more extensive topics in tandem with system manufacturers, if necessary. In the components business area, we have focused heavily on the automotive market in recent years. We want to try to diversify more here. In 2023, we have set our sights on the foodcutting application. With our existing product portfolio, which has also been optimized and standardized in recent years, we can solve most of the common applications on the market. In addition, customer requirements should also lead to new product developments and gradually expand the range.
Question 4:
Does this also have an impact on international sales activities?
Answer 4:
The markets in North America and Asia will continue to be served by our subsidiaries in the United States and China and are supported by the application experts here in Karlsbad when it comes to technical application issues. My sales team is concentrating on the DACH region and Italy. For Italy in particular, we have Tanja Sperti, a very experienced, Italian-speaking expert for ultrasonic applications. Of course, we also deal with inquiries from other European countries and continue to look after our regular international customers.
Question 5:
Last but not least. What can customers expect in the future?
Answer 5:
Basically, we want to focus on our customers' applications and solve them with the existing product portfolio to the full satisfaction of the customer. The application expertise in Sales and the short lines of communication to Application Technology help us to respond quickly to inquiries and provide customers with targeted and solution-oriented support for the problem at hand.
Thank you very much for the interview. All the best and much success in your new role.