|
|
|
|
|
R&M Equips Itself For The Future
Published Sep 11, 2011
|
In order to maintain its ability to compete in the mid to long term despite the strong Swiss franc, R&M feels compelled to take proactive measures. The cabling specialist is reacting to the persistent negative effects from the expensive Swiss franc and the uncertain economic indicators. By the end of the second quarter of 2012, it will transfer part of its fiber optic manufacturing to Bulgaria, where a company-owned facility is being constructed. “Under the current conditions, we are no longer earning any money and we are surviving from the base resources of our family-owned business,” CEO Martin Reichle explained. As a result of these measures, 50 jobs, almost all of them temporary, are affected. “With this move, we can com-pensate for the acute price advantages enjoyed today by our international rivals in this market and stay competitive,” Reichle added when presenting the plans today to the company work-force. “In the last few months, our business environment has changed dramatically. As a company that relies on exports for almost 70% of its business, movements in the exchange rate have forced our hand.” The additional location will also allow the company to better meet the unceasing high demand for fiber optic products. As before, R&M remains committed to its location in the Zurich highlands where it operates an innovation and technology center as well as a large, highly automated fabrication facility.
Based on its international structure and the strategy of decentralization the company previously implemented, it can take the necessary steps quickly and flexibly. For more than 10 years, R&M has been active in the Bulgarian market with great success. “Our well-organized Bulgarian subsidiary will help us get the new facility into operation very quickly,” Reichle said. The goal is to assemble and customize optical fiber systems at the site.
As was communicated not long ago, R&M has been successfully operating in growth markets, and in the first half of 2011 it recorded revenue growth of 16.7 percent (measured in local currency) compared to the same period in the previous year. “However, we must remain profitable and not lose our ability to take action,” the CEO noted. Competitors in the USA and Europe have significantly lower manufacturing costs than does R&M in Switzerland.
Over the next three months, R&M will be introducing restructuring measures at its head-quarters in Wetzikon in order to increase the efficiency of the entire operation by 10 percent. Teams will work out specific measures by the end of October.
“Today, R&M is well positioned both in Switzerland and internationally. In the past two years we have also made anti-cyclic investments – in a new manufacturing facility in Wetzikon, a new ERP system and the expansion of export markets. That has also been the case with innovations such as solutions for data centers and FO networks for Fiber To The Home,” Reichle added.
Posted by
VMD - [Virtual Marketing Department]
|
|
|
