changes What’s driving the process industry

“It’s all about trust”

With 49 years of partnership to look back on and around 18,000 kilometers between its offices and Reinach, New Zealand’s EMC Industrial Group is both the longest-serving and most distant representative of Endress+Hauser. Chris Gailer, Managing Director and son of the founder, shares his thoughts on a very special relationship.

As told to Kirsten Wörnle
Photography: EMC Industrial Group
Chris Gailer, Managing Director EMC Industrial Group

SALES

“The essence of successful selling has stayed pretty much the same over the years: it’s still all about people building relationships, face to face. But so much else has changed dramatically. When I started out in 1988, I would travel up and down the country with measuring instruments like the Liquiphant point level switch, visiting seven or eight customers a day, five days a week. Along with finding buyers, we also had coffee together, chatted about sports and the weather. Those days are gone. The coffee is still fine, but expectations have increased tremendously. Customers not only want much quicker responses, they also expect professional, knowledgeable and experienced contacts who help them add value to their business. You need to be an expert, not just a box-shifting salesperson — someone who knows their industry, understands their processes and can suggest improvements that they might never have thought of.

For this reason, EMC is now building up a nationwide network to offer customers complete solutions and valueadded services. This creates the necessity to train our own people in far greater depth than before, which is no easy task here in far-off New Zealand. Online seminars from Europe are almost always after hours, and even when there’s in-person training, Bangkok is still closer to Europe than to New Zealand. There aren’t even any direct flights to visit Endress+Hauser’s Asia-Pacific Support Center in Vietnam.

All of this notwithstanding, I chose to go with Endress+Hauser. Until the early 1990s, EMC acted as an agent for many manufacturers. But when the opportunity presented itself to me at EMC, I quickly dedicated my activities to Endress+Hauser. I actually worked for two years at Endress+Hauser, to gain knowledge and experience. My first job was at the Center of Competence for level and pressure measurement technology in Maulburg, the second at Endress+Hauser International in Weil, where I met my wife, then lastly at the flow measurement technology production center in Reinach. After that, things were very clear: I saw how dynamic the company was, as well as the importance given to growth, family values and new technologies. I also appreciated the open and direct lines of communication.

LONGTIME REPRESENTATIVE

Headquartered in Auckland, EMC Industrial Group was founded in 1971 by Heiner Gailer as a manufacturer of weighing systems. While visiting a trade fair, Gailer came across instruments he needed from Endress+Hauser. This led to a partnership between the two companies that has been growing strongly since 1974. Today, EMC is Endress+Hauser’s only representative in New Zealand.

Although we have a signed contract to seal the partnership with Endress+Hauser, what matters most is our mutual trust. Today, Endress+Hauser instruments make up around 70 percent of our total sales. You could compare our relationship to a marriage: both parties can have their own activities – which in any case is essential for serving the local market – but we share the same goals and core values. It’s these core values that create a bond between our employees and Endress+Hauser. With only 30 people we may be just a small cog in the 16,000-strong company, yet we feel like we belong.

EMC has been in business for 52 years now, with long-standing customers of its own. These relationships are now really starting to pay off, especially with the rise and acceptance of digitalization and IIoT. I compare it to building a house: traditionally, measuring instruments were something like the curtains and the flooring that only went in after the house had already been built. But now, thanks to digitalization, we are helping the architect and client put the house together from a much earlier stage. It’s true that manufacturers who undercut our prices are also crowding onto the market. But I’m certain that these long-term relationships will ultimately tip the scales in our favor. Our strategy of fostering relationships while building trust between customers and suppliers is bound to result in lasting success. Digitalization in particular requires trust. And where trust grows, values can thrive.”

Published 07.09.2023, last updated 11.09.2023.