Happy 50th Anniversary, WENZEL! (1968 – 2018)
In Mid-June, representatives from all over the globe gathered together at the WENZEL Group Headquarters in Wiesthal, Germany, for the 2018 Sales Conference and 50th Anniversary celebration. Attendees were given the opportunity to experience new product releases and concepts, to take part in corporate workshops, to connect with old and new friends and colleagues, and for some people, simply put faces to the email signatures. Framed around a celebration of the last 50 years of milestones, everyone’s mind was clearly on what the future holds: industry 4.0, expanding markets, new products, and global political climates while each presentation and workshop offered a refocused perspective on the WENZEL Group’s core values of Innovation, Integrity, Reliability, and Flexibility.
At the forefront of these values was innovation, as Wenzel Group continues to develop cutting-edge CMMs, sensors, CT equipment and software. New machines such as the redesigned CORE D, SF87 Shop Floor CMM, and CT-U were presented; these will all offer industry-leading metrology solutions for customers. Three optical sensors were unveiled – two of which represent significant updates to existing products in PHOENIX and CORE; the third is a combination of tactile probe and optical sensor to provide additional functionality and flexibility to the Wenzel equipment.
These new technologies are not all there is to be excited about in WENZEL’s future. New opportunities to support our customers in the Aftermarket and Service sides of the business were presented, as well as new software development plans and methodologies. Unifying software development, integration and interface will provide customers a simplified approach no matter what WM solution they choose, and the addition of several new products is sure to further develop the customer experience. The newest copy of Wenzel Metrology World 2018 goes into additional detail regarding all of these topics.
The conference also looked internally at the systems and structures in place at WENZEL and across the globe in its subsidiaries. As is true at any company, customers are not only impacted by the product that is delivered, but by the chain of events, personnel, and systems in place that are used by the manufacturer to deliver and support that product. For Dr. Heike Wenzel, CEO, the continual improvement of these internal processes and tools, and the advancement of Industry 4.0 are top priorities enabling us to more effectively and efficiently support our ever-expanding global customer base.
One thing remains unchanged….
After the proverbial Sales Conference dust had settled, a few of the staff from Wenzel America, myself included, had the opportunity to experience some real dust… granite dust… at Wenzel Steintek, the granite manufacturing plant managed by Peter Heina. If you know Wenzel, you know granite is important to us because it provides the foundation for every single one of our machines. As a relatively new Wenzel employee, I have read the blogs, watched the videos, and heard the stories, but it’s still difficult to grasp the incredible skill, precision engineering, and sheer magnitude of effort that goes into every single slab, until you’re standing next to a massive block of untouched raw stone. As Peter tells us about how generations of his family have run the plant before him and describes how each block is painstakingly transformed and prepared to become it’s own section of a precise measuring instrument… suddenly, the storied WENZEL history has fascinating, incredible context.
Because this context is what our business is founded on, it plays a crucial role in the entire sales and support process. The Applications Team is often asked “Why should I choose Wenzel?” or even simply, “How do I know what CMM is right for my application?” These kinds of questions are seldom answered simply or straightforwardly, and they may be different for everyone. However, what Wenzel can assure each unique customer is that the answers to these questions don’t lie within magazine articles, marketing, or market share, nor can they be solved by any predetermined number of engineering or even philosophy degrees. No, these answers are found in 50 years of industry experience, an unwavering commitment to quality products, staff who are on the front lines of developing technologies with decades of service, applications, and sales experience, and above all else – a company that fully believes in customer success through flexible solutions, and committed partnerships. So the next time you find yourself asking, “what?”, “how?” or “why?” give WENZEL Group, Wenzel America, and our other global partners a call.
Stuart Nichols
Applications Manager
C# 248-820-7227