Montag, 9. Januar 2012

„We want to achieve more“

Interview with Florian Schildein, Marketing and Sales Manager at Essemtec AG

For the past 20 years, the Swiss machine manufacturer Essemtec has been successful in the competitive market of electronics production systems. Adrian Schärli spoke with Florian Schildein, Marketing and Sales Manager, about the strength of the Swiss Franc, future technologies and competitor reactions.

Florian Schildein, what are your feelings as 2011 draws to a close?
I cannot even say. This year has given us big challenges, but also many highlights. In 2012, this will certainly be similar. Just because this year ends, the worldwide situation will not change.

I assume you are speaking about the strength of the Swiss Franc?
Yes, because Essemtec produces in Switzerland, it strongly depends on the exchange rate. However, 2011 has been one of our best years regarding turnover.

How?
We have been able to grow strongly in many regions. In the United States, especially, we were able to exceptionally increase our market share. Existing and new customers trust us and our solutions. Our order books are full. This clearly shows that we are on the right track and that we have developed the right products for our customers.

So the new products are well accepted in the market?
Absolutely. Above all, I am especially pleased about the sales development of the Cobra and Paraquda pick-and-place systems, the Tucano printer and the Scorpion dispensing system. However, we also are seeing a significant acceptance for other products and options that we have introduced over the last two years. One of the highlights is the Hydra.

Hydra?
This is the world’s first standard 3D pick-and-place system that can be integrated into a production line. We developed this machine in collaboration with MID-Tronic, a 3D-MID manufacturer. The machine was first shown during Productronica 2011 in Munich. The response was very good and shows that customers are thinking about 3D technology. However, until recently there was no flexible production machine available. Hydra is the first.

3D-MID technology is developing rapidly. What other trends do you see?

Requirements for precision, quality assurance and traceability of electronics production have risen in recent years. What used to be required only in aerospace and medical industries, has become standard in “normal” production as well. A further trend is that more and more processes can be integrated within one single machine. We see a high potential in the software technology. Essemtec’s eeZ software technology has been developed to increase quality and flexibility of production, as well as an increase of efficiency.

And LEDs?
LEDs are currently the fastest growing market. With our participation in the company Vermes Microdispensing, we have secured our access to one of the most important technologies for this industry. Furthermore, our own production machines have been optimized for LED production, allowing us to offer complete turnkey solutions to our customers.

Why is it so important to offer complete production solutions, so-called turnkeys?
Many customers appreciate that Essemtec is their single contact for all processes and machines. This saves time and money for installation and equipment maintenance. I believe that this will become important in the future and, therefore, we will continue the strategy to offer all from one source.

What challenges do you see in the next year?
We must not stand still and must continue developing products that meet our customers’ future challenges. We also must control our production costs and react flexibly to the market situation. Efficiency increase in sales and support is another important challenge.

Where do you see Essemtec at the end of 2012?
I believe we will experience an Essemtec that will be even more efficient in many ways and that has aligned itself even more to the needs of customers. Essemtec will present itself leaner and will be able to react more flexibly. We also will gain market share in the market segment of faster machines. We are already taken seriously in this area today — we can see this in the increasing number of customer inquiries as well as from the reactions of our competitors.

In 2011 Essemtec turned 20 years old. Is this the moment to relax?
Not at all. Even though we are winning awards for our products, we continue developing them and further improving upon them. Essemtec is a young enterprise with many young, motivated and talented employees. We want to achieve more, experience something. We will see what challenges politics and the economy present us with and we will face them successfully. We are full of ideas and power for the next 20+ years.