The strategic jump into a new market
The WENZEL name has become synonymous with high precision and innovation in the field of measurement technology. As a relatively new player in the U.S. market, we asked Dr. Heike Wenzel, the President & CEO of the WENZEL Group about the company's experiences thus far in the U.S. and about its future plans. Dr. Wenzel will represent the global leader in developing powerful metrology solutions at the upcoming Strategic Investment Summit: USA.
GSC: Over the past 45+ years, the WENZEL Group has made a name for itself in high precision, innovative metrology, establishing itself as a global leader in the field of measurement technology. Nowadays, the German family-run business is represented in over 50 countries worldwide through subsidiaries and sales and service partners. Dr. Wenzel, as you will appear as a speaker at the upcoming Strategic Investment Summit: USA, can you please explain to us which factors led to the company's decision to invest in the U.S.?
Dr. Wenzel: It was a bit strategic step for us as a family-owned company in Germany to enter the U.S. market in 2007. At that point, our business was already well-established in our home market of Germany and in Europe. So it was the next logical step to follow our international customers into a new market. Everyone knows that the United States is the world's largest economy with a GDP of over $15 trillion and a population and consumer market of more than 310 million people. The U.S. is a thriving market with a stable economic, political, and legal structure that offers a wealth of opportunities for foreign companies and investors.
To meet the increasing demand of the U.S. industry requirements, it was necessary to offer technical service and sales support to all U.S. customers on site.
GSC: The WENZEL Group opened its first subsidiary in the U.S. in 2007. Since the company's physical presence in the U.S. is relatively recent, can you share any of your lessons learned with other German companies looking to set-up shop in the U.S. for the first time?
Dr. Wenzel: We already started different activities to sell machines in the U.S. before the year 2000 with some painful experiences. Our success began in 2002 with Xspect Solutions as the distribution partner of WENZEL in North America. Xspect had engineered significant market penetration in the U.S. and had a history of being the industry leader in providing used CMMs to customers in North America. In 2007 we acquired this top WENZEL CMM reseller, which officially became WENZEL America in 2011.
This acquisition was a big milestone not only for WENZEL America, but for the whole WENZEL Group. It ensures the long-term continuation of the very successful cooperation in the North American market, and we are glad that we took this step. Now, as then, we see excellent opportunities for growth in the U.S. market.
GSC: How do you see the WENZEL Group's business developing in the United States in the years to come?
Dr. Wenzel: Since its founding, WENZEL America has continuously expanded its business for the WENZEL Group as the North American arm of the international leader in metrology. Last year brought even greater expansion than we expected. In 2014, we expanded our Western U.S. training center in Phoenix and we released even more metrology innovations, in particular in 3D non-contact scanning.
We continuously invest in both our successful subsidiaries as well as in the research and development of our innovative products. Years of experience and technology capabilities as well as our high innovation power and research and development achievements are all decisive success guarantors. These factors make it possible to develop individual and customer-specific solutions with the latest measuring technology – always with regard to extending our leadership in the market and to improving the quality of our products.
The development of the South American market will also be an important issue for us. South America will be a major global influence over the next decade. It has one of the fastest growth rates in the world and a great need for high-tech product whose high quality must be ensured and verified using our first-class metrology solutions.
GSC: Thank you very much for this interview, Dr. Wenzel.
Further information: The WENZEL Group