Mulfingen, Frankfurt
l You have been an exhibitor in Frankfurt for many years. How important is ISH for ebm-papst?
ISH is the world’s leading trade show for heating, air conditioning and ventilation technology and for us, it’s the most important trade show of 2017. It always provides us with the perfect platform for presenting our latest innovations.
At ISH, we give the accredited visitors an overview of our energy-efficient, technologically cutting-edge system solutions in the areas of heating, air conditioning and ventilation technology.
l What specific highlights will you be presenting in Frankfurt?
The market has responded with such great interest to the RadiPac series for use in ventilation technology that we presented in 2015 that it has virtually set a new air conditioning technology standard. The compact plug & play system in cube design will be launched at ISH in the new 630-1,000 mm size range. The cube-shaped struts have been optimized to avoid any negative impact on aerodynamics and acoustics. We are also launching an innovation for residential ventilation units at this year’s ISH: a single-inlet EC blower with RadiCal impellers in a scroll housing. And in the heating technology area, we will again be showing that our comprehensive product range with heating power of up to 2 MW not only offers blowers, a key component. We are also an expert system provider. With the new VG 100 condensing gas boilers – the first unit of a new, modular blower platform – we provide a very high modulation range for heating power from 3 kW to 50 kW. All of our innovations follow the sustained trend for energy-efficient solutions. We have the right answers to the market’s requirements.
l You are considered a market and technology leader. How do you maintain your position?
Along with efficiency improvements, digitalization will be the decisive factor. Our products are already prepared for “Industry 4.0” and play an important role in the smart home. Today we already generate 40 percent of our revenue with products that are less than three years old. With an above-average R&D investment of over six percent of revenue, we’ll continue to improve our rate of innovation. The focus will be on the transition from component supplier to systems provider. With fans, we’ll concentrate on increasing efficiency even more through better aerodynamics and lower noise emission. We need to be first-class listeners; we have to understand what our customers need. And we have to implement them precisely, in efficient solutions, so our customers can significantly reduce their operating costs or increase their performance. Ideally, they will do both.
l How is business for ebm-papst right now?
I am very optimistic that we will achieve our growth targets in the current fiscal year (April 1, 2016-March 31, 2017). We reinforced our technology and market leadership with many new developments and increased our revenue significantly. We financed the necessary capacity expansion with a total investment of over €170 million.
As part of its newly launched “one ebm-papst” strategy, ebm-papst is restructuring the Group to adjust to its increasing size and ensure sustained growth in the future.
We aim to position ourselves to serve global market and customer structures that are becoming more closely intertwined and to further strengthen our customer focus with speed, flexibility and a high level of technical expertise.
l What is ebm-papst’s position with regard to digitalization – are its products and processes future-proof?
The 4th Industrial Revolution took hold at ebm-papst many years ago. Since 2009, we have successfully collaborated with SAP as a pilot company, digitalizing our production facilities and processes. When it comes to our EC fans and motors, they are controlled via integrated electronics and are “Industry 4.0-compatible.”
At ebm-papst, we continue to benefit from the digitalization within our business sectors – whether it’s the IT cloud that cools the servers for ebm-papst fans or the ongoing automation that drive solutions from ebm-papst serve.
l You have been CEO of the ebm-papst Group since January 2017. What is your focus?
I will concentrate on supporting ebm-papst as it further expands its leadership position in the global market for fans and motors. I believe we will be successful if we continue to be a vibrant company that renews itself constantly and responds to market trends with agility. My colleagues on the executive board and I want to achieve this with the “one ebm-papst” strategy. Its cornerstones include growing the Group together, establishing speedy units with a customer focus and expanding our market and technology leadership. In addition, we want to position ourselves more strongly in the growth regions of Asia and North America – not just for sales but with R&D and production facilities as well.
