Close to the customer, closely aligned with the application – a conversation with our field sales team

Achim: After more than 30 years of working in the field, it is still interesting to meet people in their own working environment. I am drawn to the challenge of building a relationship, be close to customers or projects on site, and acting as a link between two companies so to speak.

Eik: For me, it is the variety above all. Every customer is dealing with different products and challenges. You get a much better impression on site of what customers are really tackling. It is this direct exchange that makes working in the field exciting. And of course, it is interesting to always get to know new companies and people and learn something new.

Achim: The technical developments at a high level for sure, as well as the automation of production processes.

Eik: In my view, the region is strongly characterised by its high technical standards. Particularly in the machine tool industry, in the field of motor spindles and automation, there are many innovative companies. The changes caused by electromobility and new production concepts are having the most impact currently. At the same time, conventional applications in mechanical engineering remain very important.

Achim: From my perspective, it is the familiar global challenges of the market. These need to be overcome with the objective of ensuring technological and economic competitiveness. The sales representative acts like a kind of idea generator here due to a wealth of experience, amongst others from previous projects.

Eik: Our customers must be very flexible today and combine high quality, short delivery times and competitive costs at the same time. Adding to this are issues such as skills shortage, and increasingly also complex technical requirements. I see my role as finding the right solution together with the customer. What is important here is to not just provide a product, but to understand the specific application and to involve the colleagues at BERG at an early stage.

Achim: At the moment, we’re primarily keeping an eye on the trend towards smart clamping systems. Sensor technology is increasingly gaining in importance here, for example to record process data. Things are about to get exciting for us when these data can be directly integrated into the machine control and processed there. I believe that such smart and networked clamping systems will play an ever-greater role in manufacturing in future.

Eik: What I find particularly exciting are the developments in automation, digitalization and electric mobility. The demands on clamping systems are becoming more and more specific. They need to be precise, reliable and durable, while also being fast and flexible. New materials and manufacturing processes are also playing an increasingly important role. One thing we see time and again is that good clamping technology needs to evolve with the machine and the manufacturing process – not the other way around.

Achim: One customer that comes to mind is a company in the woodworking industry. For them, it was a novelty to change tools in an automated way. For BERG, this is a segment in which we had so far not been represented with suitable clamping solutions.

Eik: One project that has really stayed with me was at Hartmetall-Werkzeugfabrik Paul Horn GmbH. From an initial idea that was not taken seriously, a new machine tool was developed together with the customer that made production significantly more efficient. BERG had the opportunity to be part of that development process from the very beginning. Our clamping system was one piece of the puzzle and evolved along with the overall concept. To me, this project is a great example of how an unconventional idea can turn into a successful solution when customers and suppliers work closely together.