“A cut above the rest!”

Management board (f.r.): Peter Pichler, Franz Viehböck and Dietmar
Müller interviewed by Peter Bichler (Menschen am Werk).
Berndorf at work
“A cut above the rest!”
2011 was a year for the history books. Sales in the Berndorf Group grew by more
than 40% year-on-year. Berndorf companies produced more products in a single calendar year than ever before. And 2012? We asked Berndorf management
board members Peter Pichler, Franz Viehböck and Dietmar Müller if the recordbreaking mood has evaporated.
In 2008, absolute record profits for the Group were followed by the economic crash in Europe. The crisis came
out of the blue, and Berndorf suffered along with business
across the continent. Will this situation repeat itself in
2012?
PICHLER: Generally economic growth is beginning to stutter –
that’s true. But this downturn isn’t a crisis yet. Some sectors,
VIEHBÖCK: This year there weren’t any severe staff shortages – unlike in 2011, when in the German labour market at
times up to 60,000 production manager level staff were being
sought.
Some people say they feel more uncertain this year than in
2008. What will Berndorf do if economic momentum continues to ebb?
for instance the automotive sector, were almost in economic
overdrive last year. Now we are experiencing a pronounced
MÜLLER: As everyone knows, in the 2008 crisis national
downturn, and the management needs to respond appropri-
governments stepped in financially. Today the public coffers
ately.
are empty, and people are therefore asking where else the
2 - MaW 2012
money can come from. So uncertainty grows. The only way
environmentally friendly vehicle engine technology, are also
to combat this is to realise success. At Berndorf we are in
an important part of the long term programme.
the fortunate position of experiencing successes even though
Europe is growing more slowly at the moment.
PICHLER: We are a company with strong European roots, but
Looking at the large investments made most recently, is
Berndorf generally shifting towards Germany and the automotive sector?
we produce goods for clients that are active in markets all
over the world. For example, cars in every continent are fitted
VIEHBÖCK: There has not been a strategic decision to invest
with stoba products. Berndorf belts run machinery in the most
in Germany and not in Austria. A project has to be good –
important industries worldwide. So we profit from economic
that’s what matters. Take the expansion of the production line
recovery in regions like the USA, without being directly active
at HASCO. Christoph Ehrlich’s team took the time to analyse
there on a large scale ourselves.
the options very carefully and find the best possible solution. A complete move to Austria was not unthinkable. HASCO
If American exports are driving the recovery, does this
mean the European crisis weighs less heavily on Berndorf?
carried out a completely independent, internal comparison of
ideas and locations. In the end, the headquarters at Lüdenscheid came out best. Now, however, HASCO still faces the
VIEHBÖCK: We have to take care of ourselves - we can’t make
great challenge of executing the project and delivering the
government policy. If we continue to conduct our business
expected results.
soundly, making sure we are well capitalised with minimal
debts, our financial independence is assured. In a real monetary crisis, this gives us more breathing space to adapt to
new conditions. With regard to the United States, I think it’s
important that we become more active there in person in the
future. This would allow to take advantage of the coming economic boom in the USA more fully.
MÜLLER: I agree, Franz. Value also needs to be created where the market is. Aichelin manufactures in China and India
because that’s where the customers have gone. It’s not about
outsourcing jobs, but taking advantage of growth, and it changes the scale of things. Today Aichelin employs eight times
as many people in China as it does in Mödling, where the
headquarters are located.
What’s the bottom line for the future? Will the Berndorf
Group become an Asian or an American company because
the customers are in those regions of the world? Is Berndorf emigrating?
PICHLER: We remain a global player, and Berndorf AG – as the
parent company of the Group – will remain in Lower Austria.
The economic success of the Group in recent years proves how
MÜLLER: The expansion of the HASCO site is a very good ex-
well we can run the business from here. But we also have to
ample of how long-term our projects are. These are investment
stay alert, and make changes wherever we can improve things.
programmes that run over many years. This fits with our philo-
That’s what we’re tackling now.
sophy as strategic investors. We are not looking for quick profits; we want to build momentum for bigger things over time.
VIEHBÖCK: We’re investing large sums in renewing our established production sites in Europe. The expansion of the HAS-
PICHLER: Germany is ten times larger, so we have employed
CO site at Lüdenscheid will bring operations there into a new
more workers there than in Austria for a long time. In addition,
industrial era – the plant will be almost entirely rebuilt. The
we continue to find new firms in Germany that mesh well with
investments in new production lines at stoba in Backnang, for
us in terms of their spirit – Mittelstand firms, hidden cham-
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pions with superior products that are sold all over the world.
could really feel that “international Band family” wasn’t just
Within the bounds of our careful financial management, we
a buzzword.
want bring these kinds of
companies into the Berndorf
Group.
“The economic success of the Group in
recent years proves how well we can
run the business from here.”
Where does the Berndorf automotive trend come from?
Does that also have to do
with the fact that Germany is
one of the biggest countries for the automotive industry?
MÜLLER: Aichelin has tripled
their profits in the last ten years alone, even though they
have also had to swallow massive periodic declines. That’s
just the extreme market cycle
in industrial oven construc-
tion. Aichelin was able to adjust by applying very innovative,
market-adapted working time models.
PICHLER: It’s certainly connected to that. The automotive
segment makes up around 40 percent of our business in the
VIEHBÖCK: The belt workers have also overcome that challen-
Berndorf Group at the moment; it is in fact somewhat of a
ge impressively. Berndorf Band went through some painful
focal point. This is a challenge to the other segments. The
experiences in the last crisis. What made the difference was
non-automotive sectors are becoming stronger again though,
that it was possible to keep the brightest minds on board –
via takeovers or thanks to growth due to their own efforts..
and with them their unique know-how. Today the company is
set up in such a way that it can compensate well for fluctua-
MÜLLER: This internal competition drives the Group forward
tions in the economic cycle.
as a whole. stoba is setting an example for many in the area
of technological leadership, having initiated a lot of new projects around the environmentally friendly engine. This means
that they’re not only maintaining their competitive advantage,
they’re actually increasing it!
Does that mean that the foundations are being laid for a
record year for the Berndorf Group in 2013 or 2014? Do all
signs point to growth or is there still a good bit of work left
to do in some areas?
VIEHBÖCK: You could also say that stoba obviously has the
PICHLER: Berndorf Bäderbau is actually building the busi-
“right” customers, who do their homework well themselves.
ness anew at the moment. Following years of success, swim-
That’s how you become best in class in your sector. We don’t
ming pool construction is experiencing a market crisis. This
live in an ideal world, but we are a cut above the rest – and
is of course connected to the empty public coffers, in towns
that goes for other Group business segments too.
and local authorities. Bäderbau also created some of its own
Where do Berndorf companies still have to improve in order to become best in class in their sectors?
PICHLER: That’s why we started the best in class programme,
which has been running for two years now and has gone from
strength to strength. It includes strategic work, constantly improving processes, driving innovation, investment, and above
all discovering or igniting ambition and enthusiasm among
staff. For example, Aichelin showed what was possible in market orientation and how far a company - in the geographical
sense - can go to be really close to customers. Pengg is also
heading very much in the right direction with its successful
work in India. Nevertheless, it’s true that for strongly internationalised companies, rapid growth in a diverse range of geographical regions always puts a lot of strain on management and
the “doers” who drive that internationalisation. I just came
back from the 10-year anniversary of the Band subsidiary in
Beijing, an impressive and touching celebration, where you
4 - MaW 2012
problems. A new team has taken on the work of turning the
company round and is highly committed to the task.
VIEHBÖCK: It’s a bit of a cliché to say that a crisis is always
also an opportunity, but in the case of Bäderbau we feel it’s
especially true. Naturally we expect a return to growth from
the new Bäderbau for the next three years. I see HASCO, Aichelin and stoba as further candidates for strong growth.
MÜLLER: Hueck Rheinische and Berndorf Band are in a good
position in markets where growth is strong - for instance in
the USA.
Over the past 2 years, Berndorf has mounted a strong internal campaign for growth through innovation internally. The
centrepiece is the Group innovation award, the “Innovation
Kaiser”, won this year by a team from Pengg. How willing
are Berndorf employees to pursue new directions?
PICHLER: Very willing. The participation in the innovation
MÜLLER: At the moment we benefit from the fact that loca-
award is extremely refreshing. Many Group companies take
tions that were formerly cheap - like China - are becoming
part. The encouraging thing is that most of the projects are not
more expensive. In theory at least, at some point it will be pos-
just ideas, but are already very close to being implemented. In
sible to manufacture anywhere in the world for the same cost.
ideal cases there are even already customers for them.
Then what counts is either automation or education, and here
in Europe we have the advantage. ‘Soft’ site factors will be-
VIEHBÖCK: People are also willing to pursue new directions
come the new hard currency – because motivation only grows
in training and continuing education. Special emphasis is
in a well-developed corporate culture. We have to work day in,
placed on interdisciplinary learning and exchange of experi-
day out on securing this position in the long term.
ences between young and old. In this way, we keep knowhow within in the group, as well as generating more of it.
PICHLER: We must never stop forging new paths, and we must
Knowledge proliferates when it’s shared. The fourth annual
educate the next generation. In university outreach, the ta-
intake of our management school, the Berndorf Academy, will
lents@berndorf programme helps us to present the attractive
produce a group project on this topic. Here we profit from the
jobs at Berndorf to students. The fantastic team at our app-
variety of our companies in the Berndorf Group. I see great
rentice workshops provides us with a firm foundation in the
potential for this.
increasingly important search for qualified technicians. We
are all the more pleased that, since autumn, for the first time
There is a lot of confidence to be heard in your answers.
Berndorf seems to be facing a large number of opportunities. Will they be seized?
we have more than 20 apprentices in training for the Berndorf
site alone.
PICHLER: I can say with confidence: Yes! We’ve done our
homework, and we aren’t the only ones in Europe who have.
Sites with an established industrial focus have become more
agile. They are maintaining traditional production values, but
at the same time think and act in a modern way.
VIEHBÖCK: Americans are coming to the realisation that it is
a serious mistake to pull out of production completely and focus exclusively on the benefits granted by a services-oriented
society.
MaW 2012 - 5