Jan Dall Christensen and Per Meincke:
“We provide an individual
solution for each customer”
Shortly before Wire in Dusseldorf, the editorial team of PEDAX today was able to speak with CEO Jan Dall Christensen and Sales Director Per Meincke.
Jan Dall Christensen: A turbulent financial year lies behind Pedax GmbH. What made you decide to return to your old territory? What made you so sure that you could get Pedax GmbH back on the road to success?
I know the company. I know its customers, its products and its employees. I know what Pedax can do and I knew how much energy and commitment our employees would give. Pedax is very close to my heart and if I can make my contribution to taking Pedax back to the head of the game, it is only because Pedax and its employees have earned this opportunity. Hard decisions have been made which have left their scars and I am sorry that there was no other way out in this situation. Now I can see that we have survived difficult times, I am happy that I came back.
The workforce was very happy to see you back. What is special about the people in Eifel?
I truly value the honesty and directness of the people of Eifel. Here, professionalism and humour go hand-in-hand, space is always allowed for both. I have great confidence in the employees and they have never disappointed me.
Pedax is back on course today. How did this happen in such a short time?
One of the main reasons is definitely the confidence that was shown in us. Particularly our customers and suppliers have always stood by us! All of us, the entire workforce and the board of management, are truly grateful for this.
We quickly saw how PEDAX needed to structure itself. We have been able to implement this extremely rapidly thanks to the help of all our employees.
Per Meincke: You have been Sales Director at Pedax for many years and have travelled continuously throughout the world, staying close to our customers. How many hours a year do you actually spend in airplanes?
A lot! All my colleagues in the sales team see it as a top priority to be as close as possible to our customers. At the same time our customers are happy to see us in their own countries. We are not a large company but we are globally active and so we are on the move a lot of time. We not only sell our machines, we also need to ensure that our customers have confidence in the Pedax brand, in high-quality machinery and in a highly reliable production.
And where do you see the sales focus internationally in the future?
As I said, we are globally active and we want to provide expert care and support for our customers, wherever they are in the world.
Per Meincke, Jan Dall Christensen: What is the secret of Pedax?
It lies in its flexibility and in the desire to provide, or devise, an individual solution for each customer. Of course, the appreciation of mechanical engineering and of producing high-quality products is equally important.
Jan Dall Christensen, Per Meincke: What short- to medium term goals have you set yourselves and what is the company strategy for the future?
We will focus on our core business and make targeted strategic decisions in our service and development area so that in future we can provide even better products combined with an extremely high level of service. Customer service is extremely important and we are strengthening our expansion in this area.
We are also looking at our coil division and further optimising the processes there.
Pedax is pursuing strategic partnerships, amongst others with Schlatter and MBK. How do such partnerships figure in our company success and are further cooperations planned?
Strategic partnerships have always been a part of Pedax and they bring a series of benefits. These include the lively exchange of ideas, joint presence and joint development projects, to name a few. These partnerships will also be very important for the future and we will continue to build on them. Steps are already being taken in relation to new partnerships for the coming year.
Jan Dall Christensen, Per Meincke: And finally a personal question: which prominent personality would you choose as a new member of the Pedax team?
Steve Jobs - high quality, customer friendly and innovative products.
Mr Christensen and Mr Meincke:
Thank you for this fascinating conversation!
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