IFAT | Amid the coronavirus pandemic, what is the biggest challenge in your business field?
Weber | During this pandemic, people are the main focus for us at Wilo—especially the health of our 8,000 employees worldwide of course. Wilo’s products, solutions and services are a central component of so-called critical infrastructures, such as hospitals, waterworks, etc. Hence, maintaining our global supply chains was a major challenge to ensure our production and delivery capability. As early as the beginning of February, we implemented a holistic and cross-divisional task force. We also had to find new ways to maintain contact with customers and partners—partly due to the cancelation of IFAT and other trade fairs.
IFAT | What opportunities do you see in your business sector in this crisis?
Weber | As a digital pioneer in the pump industry, we got ready for the increasing digitalization years ago. This, however, not only includes the product level, but also innovative marketing and sales processes. Due to travel bans and contact restrictions, digital communication formats are a great opportunity, not only for us but also for our partners and customers. One example: we were the first company in the industry to set up a virtual trade fair stand on the original IFAT starting date, May 4. Based on this extremely successful campaign, further digital offers will follow. The crisis is definitely also an opportunity for us!
