AEROSOL EUROPE: Recently, Poppe GmbH was renamed Globus Gummiwerke GmbH. Can you tell us what made the company decide to change its name?
Tristan Wilcken: As a manufacturer of gaskets and a market leader in the exterior gasket sector, Globus recently became an independent, medium-sized company once again. On our markets, the Globus brand stands for quality and expertise in the gasket technology sector. Therefore, together with our new owner, Callista Private Equity GmbH & Co. KG, we decided to take on our original company name, Global Gummiwerke GmbH, once again.
AEROSOL EUROPE: To what extent has the organizational structure of the company changed?
Tristan Wilcken: The organizational structure of Globus Gummiwerke will be much slimmer and more flexible in the future. All necessary functions will be performed in our location in the north once again. Decision-making paths will be shorter and our actions will once again be focused on the optimization of our own processes. Regardless of previous corporate group guidelines, our corporate strategy will be focused on growth in our core market, packaging.
AEROSOL EUROPE: What are your medium-term goals?
Tristan Wilcken: Our goal is to be incorporated into our customers’ projects as early as possible. We would like to assist our customers even more as their development partner. Furthermore, our focus is on the discovery of new applications for our products and the development of completely new products. To achieve this, we will optimize our innovation management. Environmental aspects with respect to our products and processes will also play an important role in our new developments.
AEROSOL EUROPE: Your company is globally oriented. Where do you see your core markets?
Tristan Wilcken: A majority of our customers are in Europe. The global orientation of our company plays a central role in our corporate strategy. In the future, a regional focus will no longer suffice. Therefore, in the coming years we will take many measures in order to be able to guarantee our customers equally perfect service around the world. Our market is the world.
AEROSOL EUROPE: What role, in your opinion, do Eastern European markets play and how do you regard the Russian market?
Tristan Wilcken: Eastern European markets offer great potential. However, these frequently cannot be exploited by European manufacturers. Complicated import processes and other bureaucratic hurdles make it difficult for Eastern European customers to use our products. Nevertheless, we are aware of the significance of these markets and we are trying to gain a foothold there because we see the interest of our Eastern European customers in cooperating with us. The Russian market also offers interesting opportunities in this context.
AEROSOL EUROPE: Do you still see growth markets for your products? If so, where are they?
Tristan Wilcken: As an independent company, naturally our growth opportunities are also in markets that are stagnating overall. We see additional potential for our high-quality products here. For us, the European and North American markets rank highly in this respect.
We especially regard the Asian, Eastern European, and South American markets as growth markets. In the dominant South American countries Argentina and Brazil, aerosol production alone has increased by more than 25% in the last 5 years. We see similar growth on the Asian and Eastern European markets, whereby the potential here is much greater.
AEROSOL EUROPE: What role does quality management play at your company?
Tristan Wilcken: Our company is certified according to the highest quality standards of the automobile industry. As an automobile supplier, we apply these standards equally to all of our products and processes. As a company engaged in global competition, we know that the quality of our products is the most important factor for our success.
AEROSOL EUROPE: To what extent do national and European laws influence your business processes?
Tristan Wilcken: Precisely when it comes to the materials used we have a lot of contact with European and national regulations. Therefore, we consider future requirements early on in the development process, so that we can adjust our materials in timely fashion if necessary and we work in close coordination with our customers.
AEROSOL EUROPE: What will be future challenges for our industry?
Tristan Wilcken: The increasing dynamization of economic developments poses new challenges for us. Product life cycles are getting shorter, new regulations are developed at shorter intervals, and the market always expects shorter reaction times. Increasing environmental awareness and increasing quality requirements must also be considered in all projects. Services that accompany products are also gaining significance in the industrial context. The balancing act between competitive, standardized mass products and excellent quality requires a re-thinking in purchasing. Service aspects and other benefits, such as the possibility of higher process speeds thanks to high-quality components, must also be taken into consideration in future purchasing decisions.
AEROSOL EUROPE: We thank you for the conversation.
