Victorious Vincotech

I had the distinct pleasure to visit Vincotech in the Munich area of Germany and to talk with Joachim Fietz, the company's CEO. Having its main business activities in Europe and Asia, Vincotech specializes in the development, manufacturing (assembly testing process) and distribution of low power devices that are used as inverters for general industrial applications and power conditioners for solar power system applications. On January 1st, 2011 the company was acquired by Mitsubishi Electric and so I was particularly interested in how this had affected the way the company now works and what changes had been made as a result.

Joachim started off by saying that the last 12 months had been tremendously exciting with the company making a lot of changes in implementing new strategies for its business. Previously the company had focused on 3 business segments: Power modules, Telematics and EMS. Vincotech has now closed down the Telematics business which has proved to be successful and the right decision. Vincotech has now exited from the Gores group and is now closely affiliated to its new owner, Mitsubishi Electric, the world market leader in the power module market. I asked Joachim about the fact that Mitsubishi was mostly known for the heavy power module business and that Vincotech had always been known for the lighter power side. I just wondered how this would work in the new renewable markets like solar and wind power. Joachim explained that the two companies had carried out some intensive workshops together to see what the best fit could be. It turned out that there was almost zero overlap between the two companies and that a harmonious approach to the heavy and light power module business would certainly be able to be achieved. Mitsubishi are very strong in the high power business, shipping millions of units per year, starting at units above around 30kW, with Vincotech taking the market below this threshold making a seamless and complimentary fit for the two companies. Mitsubishi are very strong in traction, energy transmission, automotive, and wind power; completely different from the area that Vincotech is targeting and servicing and so there is no conflict or overlap thereby allowing Vincotech to carry on as before. Vincotech can focus on their existing customers and service them in the same way as before. I was concerned that Vincotech was always free to choose the source of its components to provide an optimum solution and that Mitsubishi could direct the company to use only Mitsubishi parts. Joachim was adamant that this is still very much the case and that Vincotech still is the same company that can optimise solutions for its customers and that Mitsubishi becomes an additional extremely powerful chip source, when a superior product was available, giving its customers only benefits. So, business as usual. Even Vincotech's customers see the Mitsubishi deal as being a positive step. The get the same premium service they have come to expect, but with the backing of a huge company and long tem commitment to the industry. Vincotech has always been the ‘speedboat' in the industry; flexible and super-fast to market, it is apparent that the link with Mitsubishi will not affect this level of premium service in any way. Vincotech remains the same as before with all its own facilities, sales force, engineering and management with approaching 500 staff throughout the world to serve and expand its customer base. Speed to market, with innovative and highly efficient products; for example in the solar market where every fraction of a percentage point of efficiency is important, is a vital customer need. I asked Joachim how he manages to satisfy these demands to keep his customers happy and loyal. Joachim said that the direct approach to the customer with sales and engineering interfacing directly with the customers' engineers gets the best results. There are no long approval cycles or distribution network delays as is found in most companies, and an ideal solution is assured in the shortest time possible. "We hear the messages and requests from our customers ‘loud and clear' and without any layers in between, that only cause delays. Everything we do is directly with the customer", explained Joachim. "If there are any hold-ups or issues that need to be resolved, my staff can come directly to me to expedite the fastest solution", he added. New customer solutions that require R&D, engineering and product marketing can normally be instigated within 24 hours at Vincotech. This is an astonishing speed and one that I have never experienced. An accolade for the company, and obviously one of the key reasons for its high success rate and customer satisfaction. Joachim explained that in addition to the very fast decision time and production time, Vincotech does not just have a standard portfolio of products. The company can configure the final product that works best for the customer. This is another great advantage over competitors who can only offer standard products - leaving the customer to have to design around them. I asked Joachim how he sees the future for Vincotech. He told me that he saw the photovoltaic and solar as a high growth market. In the lower power sector Vincotech is a world leader with advanced topologies. Also the UPS field is showing promising prospects with energy efficient products. Again, customer service and speed to market are key drivers. Another area coming in now is the use of energy efficient products for pumps, drives and fans that are increasingly driven by inverter control to conserve energy where Vincotech can provide the all-important power modules. New EU initiatives and directives are accelerating this adoption of ‘intelligent' devices. Vincotech can take even their strategic decisions much faster than the larger power module manufacturers. If the company sees a trend or a need for the future, it does not have to look out for the next decade and make huge investments, which in the end could be wrong. This aids speed to market and keeps the overhead contained so that customers can be satisfied and not have the penalty of long term investment in R&D, plant and production facilities built onto the cost of the module. The company manufactures 100% of its products in Hungary. The facility there is very well connected to Europe, there are highly qualified staff, costs are reasonable, communication is easy, and it is in the same time zone which aids speed to market. This is an advantage which Vincotech's customers appreciate and value. Joachim summed up by saying that he wanted to further develop the company in its present successful strategy and is looking to expand his operation by hiring more highly skilled R&D, field applications and process engineers to help the company add value for its customers. The company has a great team spirit and I came away with the feeling that Vincotech is progressing in exactly the right direction. www.vincotech.com