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SWhat does it mean to be a member of a highly specialized technical team like that of the Fenzi Group?
And more importantly, how do you make efficiency, accuracy, precision and teamwork become the ingredients for worldwide success?
We’ll hear more about this from Ljerka Wiesenhofer, Hansruedi Mäder, Ruediger Reichardt, Artur Stimpfl, Klaus Wrensch: these are the true masterminds behind the research and development of new products for the Glass Alliance network.
Let’s start by saying that the top priority of the team is, of course, total customer satisfaction. Thus the main focus of the work group is to meet customer needs by supplying the best technical and sales service possible. Members of the Glass Alliance technical team have many tasks cut out for them: development of new products and improvement of those already on the market, selection of raw materials, support during production and processing, application tests, marketing and after-sales technical service. But above all it is necessary to understand and often anticipate the needs of the customers and act swiftly to come up with the best solutions.
Handling all the aspects of this type of work can be done only with the flexibility of teamwork. Each team member oversees his own powers and expertise, whether it be commercial or technical, and success depends first and foremost on good collaboration. “Our strong point is our ability to communicate with one another. The better we understand the needs experienced by other team members, the easier it is for us to propose solutions or support ideas proposed by others. We have the great fortune of working in a company which encourages this type of atmosphere,” assures Reichardt.
“Using all the communication tools available to us today, our team is constantly updated even when working in different locations,” confirms Wiesenhofer. “But that’s not all. There is continuous involvement with customers and production sites, total willingness, flexibility and a horizontal structure which allows quick responses, ensuring the type of assistance service that sets the group apart from the rest.”
This type of working structure, highly flexible and spread out over different locations and relying on team members with a wide variety of expertise, is an excellent solution for meeting the needs of an evolving market like insulating glass which has gone from being a local market to an increasingly international and multinational arena. It is increasingly common to find that the local reference person actually belongs to a large holding company. “Of course, each of us has a specific role, even though the limits of such roles are not so well defined, and we all have specific technical skills. Our company is uniquely positioned because it knows how to select the roles best suited for each member,” states Wrensch.
But what’s behind the team’s success, and consequently that of the group? “A remarkably swift control structure, quick contact with the CEO Alessandro Fenzi and fast decision making,” continues Wrensch. “In larger companies, as is often the case with our competitors, each decision must pass the control of supervisors who in turn have to get through various decisional and command levels. With Fenzi this isn’t necessary. Decisions can be made immediately and independently, or at least the discussion about the choices to be made is very short.”
“In addition to our specific tasks, each of us brings to the company a specific industrial experience in various technical and commercial sectors and transfers it to the team’s work,” stresses Wiesenhofer. “An open and unconventional collaboration with customers and continuous discussion within the work team are our main strategies for finding the right solutions and the best way out of any problems that come up.”
The Fenzi group is a recognized leader in the sector: “First of all, everything said up until now is actually what allows us to provide the customer with immediate technical service, an essential requirement in today’s market, in addition to being able to rely on a complete range of unique high-quality products which none of our competitors can match,” affirms Stimpfl. “The prerequisite for working in this sector is reliability. The characteristics of our products and the Glass Alliance team allow us to earn the market’s trust and that of our customers," asserts Wrensch. This is a market that seems to have embarked on a growth path in all continents. This is due to various factors. First and foremost the rising price of energy, which has focused attention on improving the insulation of building façades, as potential energy savings with efficient windows are remarkable. But that’s not all. Other needs are also emerging, like that for good sound insulation and safety. “With respect to this, warm edge insulating glass units are a must,” reminds Mäder. “The Glass Alliance network immediately recognized this need and with the Fenzi, Alu-Pro and Rolltech companies it was one of the forerunners in this market with highly innovative spacer bars.”
Working on a technical staff with such a wide range of responsibilities is also challenging and stimulating, fueling the enthusiasm of all the team members. In the next issue of Together Online, the technical team members will reveal the secrets behind formulating new products and their development process. (1. To be continued)
