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Core brand momentum strengthened

New names for Sartorius Group companies GWT and Boekels
Core brand momentum strengthened

On 1 June 2004, the Sartorius Group companies Global Weighing Technologies (GWT) in Hamburg and Boekels GmbH & Co. KG in Aachen changed their company and brand names, and at the same time adopted the Sartorius corporate design. cpp spoke with Dr. Günther Maaz, member of the Sartorius AG Executive Board and President of the Mechatronics Division, about the thoughts behind their corporate strategy and discussed current product developments at GWT and Boekels.

cpp: The Executive Board of Sartorius AG has decided to consolidate its brand image and integrate Boekels and GWT into the Sartorius brand. What were the reasons for this decision, and what will these companies be known as in future?

Dr. Maaz: We wanted to exchange the complexity of brand names for a more straightforward solution. Changing the names of these companies from GWT to Sartorius Hamburg and from Boekels to Sartorius Aachen has significantly strengthened our core Sartorius brand momentum within the Sartorius Group. It will also mean a 50 % increase in the sales revenue associated with Sartorius. Within the company, these measures have a uniting effect; outwardly, they make the Sartorius brand more distinct.
cpp: United under the Sartorius brand, you now have an extensive product portfolio for weighing, measurement and industrial process control, all from a single source. How have GWT and Boekels developed financially since their acquisition by Sartorius, and how are these companies structured today?
Dr. Maaz: Both companies have profited. Before the acquisition in 1998, Boekels was a well-known company, especially within Germany, with core competencies in dynamic weighing technology and metal detecting equipment for the food, chemical and mining industries. Due to the company’s small size, however, it had only limited opportunities in international markets. Belonging to Sartorius has opened up worldwide distribution channels to the company known today as Sartorius Aachen. In addition to sales aspects, Sartorius Aachen has also expanded its technological spectrum; for example, the latest generation of checkweighers is built with monolithic weigh cells, which we at Sartorius have been using in laboratory balances for years with huge success.
With GWT, the situation was quite different. Although the company was already internationally positioned and technologically eminent, it was in a financially extremely difficult situation prior to the 1999 acquisition. The first thing we had to do here was consolidate. After restructuring, Sartorius Hamburg developed very well in its markets. The entire area of industrial applications at Sartorius has benefited, because we can now offer our customers a vast array of products ranging from precision scales and balances to equipment for tank and hopper weighing. As an international supplier of process technology, we offer application-specific solutions for data acquisition, filling, manual formulation, automatic formulation (batching), blending, average weight control of prepackages, and static and dynamic checkweighing.
cpp: How are Sartorius Aachen and Sartorius Hamburg positioned technologically today? In which areas do their product ranges complement each other and where do they overlap?
Dr. Maaz: There is no overlap at all in the products offered; in fact, the portfolios balance one another very well. Sartorius Aachen specializes in dynamic, high-performance weighing technology and metal detectors for quality assurance, while Sartorius Hamburg concentrates on components and solutions for process weighing technology, and is a pioneer in the fields of both strain-gauge and sputter technology. We are one of the few manufacturers in the world developing and producing our own strain gauges, using absolutely high-performance materials. This not only gives us 100 % process control, but also enables us to make high-performance weigh cells and load cells with unsurpassed accuracy and durability. The product assortments available from Sartorius Aachen and Sartorius Hamburg harmonize perfectly with the products from our headquarters in Goettingen to make up a complete range of industrial weighing and measurement technology.
cpp: What financial and strategic goals are you pursuing at the moment?
Dr. Maaz: Sartorius intends to increase its profitability this year and in the coming years. Our main focal points will be innovation and distribution. We will expand our product portfolio with a customer-oriented focus by working towards providing more innovative measuring instruments, sensor technology and process control, and make the most of Group synergies while simultaneously entering into external cooperation agreements and alliances. In the Mechatronics Division, we are especially interested in augmenting our activities in the growth markets of China and India and in gaining new market shares in the US.
cpp: In which markets are Sartorius Hamburg and Sartorius Aachen active?
Dr. Maaz: Sartorius Hamburg’s activities are primarily in the chemical and petrochemical, pharmaceutical, building materials, food and cosmetics industries. Customers of Sartorius Aachen come from the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, chemical and mining industries. Although the emphasis is different in each branch of industry, these two Sartorius sites often address customers in the same markets.
cpp: Sartorius Hamburg is one of the leading suppliers of industrial process weighing technology. What is currently the main focus of product development here?
Dr. Maaz: Right now we are introducing ProBatch+, a new system for managing formulation and production. ProBatch+ offers incredible flexibility and extremely high performance, and it is very easy to install. It runs under Windows and uses the powerful Microsoft Access database, which makes it easy to manage large volumes of data on raw materials, formulas and production. Because ProBatch+ can be combined with pre-programmed X-Series batching controllers and has an open interface for integration with other control systems, such the Siemens S7, it presents not only a tremendously powerful and reliable solution but also a highly adaptable recipe management system. Communication between ProBatch+ and the control lines is implemented over OPC in compliance with the ANSI/ISO S88.01 batch control standard. Dynamic data is provided through DDE and OPC for use in linked visualization systems, while data transfer to an ERP system can be realized over the SQL and ODBC database interfaces.
cpp: Sartorius Aachen offers a wide variety of products in the field of metal detection and checkweighing. What product innovations are approaching market launch in Aachen and what are the goals for product development?
Dr. Maaz: We are currently in the process of launching the Observer, a truly innovative product for quality assurance in the food and pharmaceutical industries. The Observer uses magnetic field measuring technology to detect metal contaminants in products that are packaged in aluminium. Up to now, this task could only be performed using X-ray technology, which is expensive and entails a great many complications for the user.
With this new method, the products to be tested – such as aluminium-sealed packages of baby food – are premagnetised on the infeed side of the belt, and the magnetic field sensor unit reliably detects remanent magnetism of any metal particles present. Moreover, the Observer even detects AISI 304 particles that are made magnetisable when shearing or deformation alters their crystal structure, as is common during a normal production run. In short, this metal detector offers all these advantages even at high belt speeds.
The Observer is ideal for checking products that are packaged using composite materials, such as potato crisps, prepared foods, yogurt cups sealed with aluminium foil or tablets in blister packs. In the medium term, we plan to offer a complete range of detection devices, from conventional metal detectors based on induction through magnet field measuring units to X-ray technology for detecting all types of contaminants.
cpp: What are the current development trends in process weighing technology?
Dr. Maaz: We assume that regulations governing the pharmaceutical and food industries will continue to grow more stringent. Quality and safety requirements imposed by consumers and bulk purchasers have already led to the introduction of new standards. The Sartorius Group will stay on top of these developments so that we can continue to offer the best possible solutions to our cus- tomers right into the future.
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