When you have a solution that can offer customers more than 40% cost savings and increase their productivity manifold, it is half the job done. Henkel’s presence at IMTEX 2017 was to get its existing customers excited about its new technology and also partner with more machine tool manufacturers. Moreover, Henkel has a solution that can show customers how to reduce waste. The company showcased its complete portfolio of technologies that can be used in metal forming to assembly process.
Bharadwaj said that since Henkel works on a strategic cycle, it has done phenomenal work over the last four years in the automotive sector as compared to any other sector Henkel plays in. “We have grown roughly about 6.8% last year and have shown profitable growth in the period of our last strategic cycle. We have been getting positive feedback from our customers and order suppliers that the outlook is very positive. We have something to look forward to.”
Ask Desinger about the customised solutions the company has for the Indian market, and he says, “Our key competitiveness advantage comes from our broad technology portfolio. We encourage our sales and technical service people to talk to customers regularly about the applications. We have more than 6,500 sales persons globally and more than 300 sales people in India alone. They engage with our customers from the design and conceptual stage to the validation phase. This offers us an insight into the design and engineering trends our customers are moving towards, and helps us to offer them customised solutions for their new designs.”
For instance, Henkel has different solutions for the variants of automotive major Maruti Suzuki, as one-size-fits-all cannot work in this industry.
Speaking of R&D, Desinger says the company has several innovations that it develops in Europe and other countries. “We support all our subsidiaries from Europe and regularly update the technical staff.”
Considering that it comes up with new products every time its customer comes up with a new design, it is imperative that Henkel keep a sharp eye on its customers so that it can customise the products for them. Bharadwaj says that this way it is easier for them to measure the products they have manufactured or the new innovations last five years. As a €9 billion business, it has set targets to garner at least €3 billion from products generated in the last five years. So every year it needs to add about €500 million to its sales.
The company is launching Loctite HY 4090 soon in the Indian market.