Development of operations in EMEA for a US plant manufacturer

Situation

The company is a plant manufacturer in the field of high-tech system solutions. Following the takeover by a private equity company, the aim was to position the company in Europe and South Africa. At the time, the company already had a strong presence in the USA, but few projects in Europe and South Africa, which were served from the USA. The first sales team was hired in Europe, but there was still no operations organization and the company was not yet technically, organizationally and personnel-wise ready to carry out automation projects in Europe. As a result, the ongoing projects in Europe got into difficulties. The company was not perceived as a European player, which also resulted in a lack of sales success.

The aim was to position the company on the European market with an appropriate organization, implementation know-how and predominantly European technology, so that plant construction projects (€ 5-400 million project volume) can be implemented independently in Europe.

Challenges/scheduling

Analysis of the situation and development of a strategy, coordination of the strategy with the CEO of the company.

The challenge lay in both the operational and strategic components. Operationally, existing project contracts and deliveries had to be technically adapted to European standards and projects had to be brought to a successful conclusion in crisis situations. Strategically, the aim was to develop an organization from an existing small team of 15 employees in the UK and South Africa with little industry experience that would be comparable to established companies in the industry within a very short time.

Organization:

1. Expansion of the organization from 15 to over 100 employees in 12 months in Austria, UK and South Africa (top talents such as designers, electrical engineers, project managers, purchasers, developers).
2. Opening an office in Austria to attract local and industry-relevant talent.
3. Accompanying change management.

Partner:

Development and establishment of a network of European product and system suppliers and conclusion of framework agreements – strategic procurement.

Processes:

1. Development of the project management process based on the expectations of the European customers and in coordination with the processes of the European partners.
2. Establishment of a Project Management Office (PMO).
3. Development and establishment of European-specific processes such as CE marking, ergonomic assessments, PUWER assessments, health & safety, technical documentation.
4. Due to massive growth, development of a network of external service providers for the provision of technical resources; outsourcing.

Sustainable result

As a result of these strategic initiatives, the company has seen remarkable improvements. The company was able to acquire several new customers, e.g. in Germany and the Czech Republic, which have a strong brand and a high market share in retail and e-commerce. The European operations organization can implement projects independently of the headquarters in the USA. This enabled the company to increase its order intake, sales and organization faster than planned while maintaining an EBIT margin in line with industry standards.

In addition, the support helped the company move closer to its long-term goal of becoming a relevant player in the European market for the industry.

1. Contribution to increasing the project portfolio from USD 200 million to USD 800 million
2. Increase in staff from 15 to over 100
3. Maintaining the operating margin

Conclusion

Thanks to the strong focus on an independent and fully developed European organization and the successful turnaround of existing projects to successful project completions, the company was able to establish itself as a major player on the European market within a very short space of time. The sustainable organizational structure has led to further growth even after the deployment.