Extrusion International 6-2020

34 Extrusion International 6/2020 PROCESSING – INTERVIEW What does ECON pride itself in as a company? Gerhard Hehenberger: Since its foundation in 1999, ECON has recorded a steady and sta- blegrowth, whichhasmadeus a successful company. It is par- ticularly pleasing that we were able to establish our brand on the world market in this very short period of time. The worldwide success of ECON is based on the innovative ECON-technology. Numerous patents and awards, such as the State Prize of Innovation, verify our inventive spirit. What stands out about ECON’s underwater pelletizing sys- tems? Hehenberger: First of all, our machines offer a high process stability. Our unique technology - the patented thermal in- sulation – makes a perfect production possible. To meet the needs of our target groupwe offer tailor-made solutions for every customer. As a development partner, we constantly implement new customer-speci fi c solutions. Our customers especially appreciateour fast and short decision-makingpro- cesses, as well as technically excellent and durable products. Our customer service department is also a very important part of the company. Fast response times and high avail- ability of technicians characterize our customer service. The training of our employees is our focus, as we want to ensure a high service quality. Furthermore, we offer various custom- ized service agreements to guarantee a fast delivery of spare parts. As amodern company, we ensure that we can support our customers at any time. Therefore, we are permanently improving our remote service system. Which products/projects are you very proud of? Hehenberger: In 2019we introducedour innovative product ECONia – the fi rst fully automated pelletizing system. From mypoint of view,wewereable to set anothermilestonewith this machine. Therefore, it is a very important product devel- opment. This special machine combines the advantages of thermal separation and industry 4.0. An integrated robot takes over the usual operating processes, such as starting the machine, as well as changing the knife carrier. This automa- tion step enables the operator to operate and control more than 10 lines simultaneously from his control center. The in- tegrated arti fi cial intelligence makes the production much more simple and ef fi cient. An inlinemonitoring systemmea- sures the pellets to ensure the best quality. How does ECON deal with the current situation? Hehenberger: Likemanyothercompanies,wearefacingnew challenges due to the current situation. ECON is using this ex- traordinary time to build up personnel for the future and to offer employees the opportunity to expand their expertise. Thus, we are preparing for the time after the pandemic. As a reliable partner, we have even sent a service technician to the USA in order to provide our customers the best possible local support - even in challenging times. What are some of the challenges facing the company and how are they overcome? Hehenberger: The current international travel restrictions and the cancellation of trade fairs – as the most important communication channel – make market development a task that we had to rethink. However, the digital world offers a real possibility to be there for our customers. The challenge here is to fi nd the right communication channels to reachour target group. It is therefore essential to stay up-to-date per- manently. What does the future hold for ECON? Hehenberger: As in the past, ECONwill continue to focus on the development of innovative products in order to meet customer needs as best as possible. We have also planned to develop new markets and thus create a positive future for ECON. Thank you for our conversationMr. Hehenberger. ECON Head of fi ce Austria ECON GmbH Biergasse 9, 4616 Weißkirchen/Traun, Austria www.econ.eu, of f i ce@econ.eu Subsidiaries in China, USA and India “We are here for our customers, even in challenging times.” Interview with Gerhard Hehenberger, CEO ECON Group