IA News recently visited the FESTO Road Show, when it stopped at the Vistana Hotel, Penang, on the 24th of October 2008.

“The Road Show is to introduce customers to the Festo Value by showing potential customers how Festo can become a preferred partner in Industrial Automation”, said Wong Kim Leong, the Company’s National Sales Manager, explaining the rationale behind the event.

Targeting the electronics and photovoltaic industries, today’s Road Show exhibited the latest in electrical drive (E-Drive) and handling technologies. Numeric and digital electrical drives, to drive the motion, multi-positioning and multi-axis units using motion control systems and servo-sensing systems, were all highlighted at the Vistana Hotel. The machines on display were impressive in their capabilities and many of those who came were impressed with what they witnessed, particularly the precision and speed with which these machines executed their functions.

All these products are mainly used in the electronics industry, and in the food and beverage industry. The Company also manufactures novel solar panels, which are used to power parking meters. These solar panels are mainly exported to Germany, a pioneer in utilizing alternative energy sources. Products manufactured for handling technologies are integrated with pneumatic and e-drive characteristics, giving them the flexibility of accurate positioning.

Owing to the current bleak economic prospects, Wong Kim Leong expects a lower level of activity in the industrial sector, and thus the Company is venturing into other markets such as Oil & Gas, Biotechnology, Solar Cells, Palm Oil and Water & Waste Water. They are also currently working with Original Equipment Manufacturers such as Pentamaster and the LKT Group.

According to Wong, Festo is looking to build genuine partnerships with its customers. To this end, Customer Solutions Centres have been set up throughout the region, to help customers explore complex electrical drive solutions for their handling requirements. From components to complete machines and systems, Festo offers customized solutions, including software and controllers, at these Customer Solutions Centres. The Company also offers implementable mechatronic and handling solutions to potential customers as part of their portfolio.

After speaking to Wong Kim Leong, IA News caught up with Udo Mathels, the Regional Sales Manager (Sensors & Vision), Asia Pacific, for his views on the day’s events, his Company’s directions and the global situation in general.

Udo is mainly responsible for the Company’s e-products which, amongst others, encompass sensors and vision, areas which result in the manufacture of camera systems for motion, and also for enhancing quality machine vision. According to Udo, the industrial segments of primary interest to Festo, are the automotive and food and beverage industries. Currently, the Company strives to be a complete automation provider, providing whole automation technology solutions. In particular, as Udo put it, the Company aims to provide “the sensory organs of automation”.

In line with Company policy of offering solutions to customers, staff are trained to monitor, and thereafter fulfil, customer needs, all the time fitting applications to customer requirements. They are trained to adapt solutions provided by the Company, for use by the customer. With a product range in excess of 40,000, Festo staff are in a very strong position to satisfy most, if not all, of their customer needs in nearly every segment of industry.

To show the Company’s seriousness in addressing customer concerns, there are 14 subsidiaries in the Asia Pacific region alone. In addition to this, Festo employs more than 1,100 sales engineers worldwide, not only to provide solutions for their customers’ needs, but to also promote the massive array of tools available for today’s industries. They are backed up by product specialists, who are experts in every segment of industry. All of these factors give confidence to Festo clients that the Company is indeed committed to their needs and aspirations.

The best way to describe Udo is to call him a “practical optimist”. He does not walk around in blinkers, oblivious to the chaos caused by the battered global economy. Instead, he is looking for practical solutions to enhance Company growth, even in these bad times. Whilst others are bunkering down for a long siege, Udo is venturing forth, looking for new business opportunities. He wants to increase the Company’s market share, especially in e-products, in preparation for the inevitable upturn in the global economy. Udo explained that the Company employed a growth strategy in its’ operations, and thus he felt confident in seeking to expand market share.

Being very committed to the environmental cause, Udo was of the opinion that regional governments should adopt solar energy as an alternative source of renewable energy, although being the pragmatist that he is, he feels that moves in this direction should be an industry-led initiative. On Festo itself, he reiterated that everything about the Company is customer-driven and customer-led, with variables such as prices and specifications being especially catered for. He personally wants to be partners with his customers.

The Road Show was attended by more than one hundred participants, who were uniquely treated to a “hands-on” experience of Festo products under the tutelage of various senior management staff from the Company. This is not a common experience in Malaysia as most Companies will just exhibit their products, give you some literature and feed you a good lunch. In the case of Festo, all these three elements were present, but what gave their Road Show an added dimension, was the ability of participants to touch, feel, see and experience the Company’s products.

IA News came away much enlightened after visiting the Festo Road Show, and would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Udo, Wong Kim Leong and the Festo team, for putting on a superb and unique Road Show.

Courtesy of Festo