Sensor and automation specialist Balluff is celebrating its 20th year of presence in the British market. The modern family-owned company from Neuhausen in Germany has always emphasised a sustained international strategy.
As far back as the 1970s, Balluff was represented in the markets of Great Britain and Ireland. Originally, Balluff was a dealer who handled sales for the sensor and automation specialists, but in 1997 the company decided to convert to a wholly owned subsidiary. Fast forward to 2017 and Balluff Limited is looking back on 20 successful years in Cheshire. Balluff UK is celebrating the occasion with a variety of activities: an internal celebration took place in the anniversary year in July. The subsidiary presented an in-house produced video about the company’s history. “In addition, to mark 20 years of business we will be organising 20 free training courses for our customers in order to share directly our expert knowledge,” says John Radford, head of the British location.
United Kingdom remains one of the most important sales markets
With its strong industrial sector, the United Kingdom is Germany’s second largest trade partner and therefore also one of the key sales markets for the sensor and automation specialists – even after Brexit. “Over the course of the past 20 years we have always demonstrated that we respond positively and creatively to changes in the market. The decline of traditional industries in favour of digitisation had, and still has, a great influence over what we do,” notes Radford. “We react consistently to the needs of our customers. This basic attitude has always helped us to be successful in the British market.”
As for Brexit, the subsidiary expects a positive effect on its customers’ and British exports due to weakening of the pound. “This is currently having a positive effect on our new orders,” Radford adds. The possible loss of worker freedom of movement for the United Kingdom does represent a challenge for the company. Even today the company relies on a diverse workforce: in addition to British nationals and EU citizens, employees from outside of Europe are also employed at Balluff in North West England. “We also want to continue growing as a subsidiary. As an attractive employer, this is why we offer our employees a family-like work environment in an exciting field of the future,” emphasises Radford.
Globally positioned
Other anniversaries are also coming up this year in the Balluff Group. Balluff is celebrating twenty years in Italy. The Singapore location has an even longer track record. Balluff has been present in the Southeast Asian market for 25 years already. Furthermore, the Netherlands, Sweden and Japan are all looking back on a 15-year company history. The large number of anniversaries is an expression of the consistent internationalisation strategy of the company. “Our proximity to customers in the target markets worldwide is an important competitive advantage for us,” emphasises CEO Florian Hermle. “We offer our customers the best possible service, high quality, short delivery times and custom solutions. The efforts of our local staff and the resulting success bears this out.”
