From the introduction of the Berry up-and-over garage door in the 1950’s, Hörmann has grown to become the market leaders in garage and industrial doors throughout Europe. The company continues to grow and now has over 50 wholly owned subsidiaries and numerous authorised dealers in over 30 countries. In the UK the company has gone from strength to strength with both the domestic and industrial divisions recognised as market leaders. By sticking true to the original philosophy of quality without compromise, Hörmann has maintained its commitment to research and development to ensure that the products and services provided meet the safety, operational and budgetary needs of all clients.
Warehouse & Logistics News – First of all, Mark what does your role involve day to day? Has your role changed since last year?
I oversee 10 field based engineers and 5 back office staff. My main role is not only to increase the sales effort in the field but to also ensure that the office is capable of acting efficiently and proactively when workload increases.
Setting processes, assigning accountability and ensuring these are adhered to on a day-to-day basis is key to being as proactive as possible in any service environment.
My role here with Hörmann is new, so yes my role has changed over the last year. I am looking to progressively grow the sales efforts and in doing so increase staffing levels in the field and in the office in line with this growth.
WLN – 2012: how was it for you?!
I have joined Hörmann this year to oversee the expansion of the service department and to continue to meet our customer’s needs. We are seeing growth through two routes, 1) More and more customers are taking out service contracts as a matter of course, when we install new doors and loading equipment and 2) Rising energy costs have focussed attention on energy saving measures. Ensuring your doors are operating and sealing efficiently is a simple step that can save real money for many operators.
WLN – Was your company involved in the logistics for the Diamond Jubilee or the Olympics or Paralympics? Have you noticed any lasting effect after these events?
For the Olympic village a wide range of our doors were installed, many of which we will be maintaining on a contract basis. We had a number of field engineers adding their skills and expertise to various installations and as such a real feeling of satisfaction and sense of achievement has been gained. During the Jubilee celebrations our engineers were onsite at Buckingham Palace for routine maintenance of our doors fitted to the Royal coach houses. These are a real showcase for our product as they have now been in place for over a decade with no issues
WLN – What effect did the lack of a summer in 2012 have on your business?
The wet summer created additional demand for our repair and maintenance service as the wet weather highlighted to operators issues that needed to be resolved. Where water can get in, heat can get out so the weather certainly brought forward these issues which we normally expect to see in Autumn and Winter.
WLN – What is your particular proposition for customers in the warehouse & logistics sector? Has that changed since last year?
We are the pre-eminent supplier of industrial doors and loading bay systems. For our customers we aim to provide a complete one-stop-shop from initial design through to installation and ongoing service and maintenance.
While this approach has not changed, the increased use of integrated solutions to improve both safety and efficiency has led to greater demand for long term service contracts to ensure that these operational gains are retained. Good maintenance programmes not only ensure optimum performance but minimise downtime, reduce risks and extend the life cycle of the equipment, ultimately minimising whole life costs.
WLN – How has your business sector been performing in 2012? What do you see as the most important recent developments?
On the installation side we have been busier than ever, particularly with developments for major retailers. One of the main considerations for new developments is energy efficiency which has led to the increased use of fast action doors to partition buildings. This means that we are fitting more doors per project.
WLN – What proportion of your business is maintenance? How has that changed since 12 months ago?
Maintenance and repair is a growing area for our business as more and more customers look to extend the life of their existing equipment rather than replace. Maintenance work has risen by 25 per cent when compared to 2011 with this trend set to continue.
WLN – Has your company grown in the last 12 months?
Sales have increased dramatically in 2012 and we have had to expand our UK service provision alongside this. New team members have been recruited to meet demand as we anticipate this increased level of activity to continue throughout 2013 and onwards.
WLN – Have you been investing in improving your premises, taking on more staff, enhancing your IT etc in 2012?
As a company Hörmann has continued to invest for the future. We are seeing the benefits of the money ploughed into our manufacturing capability as we have maintained short lead times as our orders have increased. We are now investing in our service to ensure that we continue to meet the high standards we have set. For the service team we are bringing in better software to help our engineers plan their workload more efficiently and have recruited to give them better office support. IT for all field staff will be in place early 2013 and as such will give the customer better visibility of us and a much quicker turnaround of any job request.
WLN – How are your existing products and services doing?
Very strong. The commitment to continual improvement means all our hardware is regularly being updated and improved, in order to meet customer demand. This also means we have a constant training and accreditation regime that ensures our engineers offer the best possible support for what we believe is the best product in the market place.
WLN – Have you launched any new products or services in 2012? What are they, and how are they performing?
Pre-winter checks have already proved a successful addition to our service offering, while on the product front, new rolling shutters have extended our already broad range of doors. Products remain fundamentally the same, with a few tweaks regarding operator software ensuring longevity and future proofing.
WLN – What’s been your company’s single biggest achievement in business this year?
I would say that maintaining our high service levels while significantly increasing sales has been a great achievement. However the success we have achieved has been on the back of a lot of hard work from everyone so perhaps working together more efficiently has been our greatest achievement this year.
WLN – Which industry sectors are your customers in? What applications do people use your products for?
Warehouse logistics sector represents our biggest sector, however, with specialist doors for food manufacture, pharmaceuticals and even blast proof doors we work with a wider range of customer than most. With the increased use of fast action doors to partition buildings, conveyor systems and production lines, we are gaining more work with manufacturing companies.
WLN – Do you sell your products direct or through distributors? Has that strategy changed in the last year?
The nature of our business means that we supply through both routes. For major contracts we supply and install direct, however, we are working hard to develop closer working relationships with our trade partners so we can provide a better service to all our end customers.
WLN – Can you name any of your major projects in the last 12 months, and talk about what you have done for them?
We have had a high number of supermarket distribution centre projects this year and, as such, all could be a potential talking point. Aside from the installation and commissioning, we have an ongoing commitment to ensure that the after sales service builds on the excellent working relationships we have developed.
WLN – Have you developed your web site in the last 12 months? What difference has it made to your business?
We have made improvements to make our website easier to use to help our customers get the information they need as efficiently as possible. This is particularly important for those customers who need an urgent response – feedback has been positive and it is noticeable that the number of calls that have to be transferred to another part of our operation has reduced significantly.
WLN – How does your forward order book compare with a year ago? What about the waiting list for your products compare with a year ago?
Q1 and Q2 are already looking healthy on just the maintenance side. This is largely due to the winter campaign we started back in October. Pre-winter checks to ensure that doors and loading equipment are operating efficiently have been welcomed by many customers who will reap the benefits of reduced operating and energy costs. This has proved to be a win-win situation for us and our customers.
WLN – What would you like the Government to do to help your company in 2013?
Fuel excise duty is what most people in field service would say but to be honest, a more structured, Government-backed apprenticeship scheme, with proper educational support and funding, would be great.
WLN – Can you tell us about your plans for 2013? Where do you see your company going next year?
The goal is to maintain our growth in 2013. To do this we will continue to develop both our products and service offering. Service will continue to be a growth area as more and more customers look to extend the lifespan of exiting equipment rather than replace.
Hörmann UK Ltd
Tel: 01530 516888
Email: info@hormann.co.uk
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