Mr. Schult, Why is the Valve World Expo important for LESER as a valve manufacturer?
Valve World is different from the user fairs LESER has participated in this year; it is the international meeting place for the valve industry. Here we have the opportunity to be in contact with many of our trade and sales partners. In recent years, however, we have also observed an increase in the number of valve end users at Valve World. As around a quarter of the visitors are now real valve experts and decision-makers, we expect expert talks at a high level and the opportunity to present LESER as the international specialist for safety valves.
For LESER, as a safety valve specialist, it is also interesting to observe developments in the larger market for control valves in order to identify long-term trends relevant for safety valves at an early stage. At the same time, we also want to set trends with our solutions.
LESER is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. What message does this have for your customers?
Of course, this is an extraordinary anniversary, and it has accompanied LESER throughout the year. But it was particularly important to us not only to focus on the anniversary. After all, it is not an achievement in itself to exist for 200 years, especially as the company's history has not always been marked by success. The actual achievement is LESER's current positioning, which is characterized by customer and future orientation. We have put this in the foreground in all our events marking our 200th anniversary, and it is also a central topic at Valve World. With Valve World in Düsseldorf we will let our anniversary year come to an end.
What are the central LESER topics at Valve World, if it is not the anniversary of LESER?
Of course, our 200th anniversary was the main topic of communication for us this year. Started with the actual birthday on March 16th, the customer event LESER Evolution Night in Frankfurt's Senckenberg Museum was the focus of the anniversary celebrations at ACHEMA. With the Experience Days more than 300 visitors from 55 countries came to the LESER-Kontor in September and made the "Home of Safety Valves" the international meeting place for overpressure protection.
At Valve World we would like to intensify the trend topics of the process industry discussed at the Experience Days with the trade visitors. LESER will present its complete product and service portfolio at Valve World. The focus will be on the new LESER Change-over Valve, which in combination with two DN 400 XXL forms a structure almost four metres high, as well as LESER's WebServices, which are directly accessible via a QR code on the safety valve.
How important is digitisation for mechanical safety devices?
Safety valves are the last link in a chain of safety devices. Plant operators rely on their purely mechanical function even if, for example, the power supply fails. Regardless of this, the digital environment of LESER's products is changing. This trend will quickly intensify and place new demands on LESER.
We are already in discussion with many of our major customers for concrete digital applications, such as data exchange in the early phase of system planning or simple access to product data and life cycle information in field operation. This also includes the digital support of the LESER typical short delivery times and adherence to delivery dates.
