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pril 28th marked the 50th anniversary of the Crouzet subsidiary. Now based in new offices in Hilden, employees ensure proximity with the company customers.
On the occasion, Markus Greis, Crouzet Marketing Communication & Sales Support Director, accepted to share with us his vision of Crouzet’s presence in Germany.
After starting his career as a secondee in France, Markus Greis went back to Germany. His career led him, among other functions, to focus on advanced technologies and to specialize in field bus systems. He was, then, managing a team of product engineers, providing the sales interface between the German customers and the engineers from the design office in France.
Markus, first of all, thank you for welcoming us for this interview. So 50 years…that’s a lot of industrial developments, processes and activities. During those years, what has guided the company to ensure its long-lasting presence in Germany?
Developing and maintaining a local presence in Germany has always been something challenging for us. Our cohesive team in Hilden (including sales, marketing, technical support, business engineers & customer support departments) has developed a team spirit. We are immersed in a French-rooted international and multicultural company. Embedded in the historical partnership between our two countries, we successfully mixed the technical know-how the German market required with the charm of a French company. It has ensured us proximity to better understand the market needs and communicate more easily with our customers. This gave birth to great commercial successes in industrial markets but also in the Aerospace market. We are proud, for instance, of our partnership with Airbus, a great example of European collaboration.
Germany is economically the strongest European country. Being there is unavoidable to meet growth. As we recently saw with Industry 4.0, Germany is leading –if not creating- most of new industrial tendencies. Here, Crouzet takes part in working groups like ZVEI and contributes to building the future.
You just mentioned the future and industry 4.0, which experts often see as the 4th Industrial Revolution. The manufacturing industry is undergoing a tremendous transformation. In your mind, what are Crouzet’s strengths today to embrace this transformation and ensure a bright future ?
In this highly competitive market, our autonomy has worked as Crouzet’s footprint. We are able to offer 5 lines of products. We can meet the specific needs of the Aerospace market as much as those of transportation. Railways for instance. Do not forget that Berlin welcomes the most important tradeshow, Innotrans, for that market. We can also answer industrial needs in a country where industry works as an economic driver.
As I said, we have developped proximity with our customers on the ground. This is a great strength. With one sales person, one voice, one face, the customer relation is reinforced, the business reputation and trust increase. With one dedicated Crouzet expert for all industrial products, we are more efficient and partnerships are strengthened.
Our customers are open-minded and the German market is highly open to innovation and progress. We seek to develop partnerships with German manufacturers. Their opinion is important for us, we often seek their comments in Field Tests and trust their feedback. Remaining attentive to the customers and to the market demands, we’ll be able to anticipate and innovate.
Thanks again, Markus, and Happy Birthday to Crouzet’s German subsidiary!
