Adrian Echert, Manager Wood-Mizer Romania, invites you to the Customer Day

We took the opportunity to meet Adrian Echert to find out more information about Wood-Mizer Romania, the company he runs, about what the last 14 years have meant for him and Wood-Mizer Romania. The most important information is that Wood-Mizer Romania will organize this year's Wood-Mizer Customer Day on October 29 in Sibiu, at the Redal exhibition center. Why do I say it's the most important! Because I was at the last edition of the event, we have seen the extent and level of interest from participants. So, personally, I enthusiastically recommend attending this event. More about Adrian Echert, Wood-Mizer and Wood-Mizer Customer Day in the following interview.

More than halfway through 2022. What have been the challenges of this year so far?

Adrian Echert: Yes. There were challenges as every year, but this year they seemed to be more difficult, mainly related to price increases. We also had to change our chain prices like the rest of the suppliers which complicated sales. Other challenges were production lead times for machinery, parts shortages, parts getting more expensive. We were in constant contact with our colleagues in Poland, our parent company. They also had problems with parts shortages, so they couldn't finish the machines on schedule. Some were missing cylinders, some were missing pneumatic or other equipment. The prices of some parts have really skyrocketed. We're keeping an eye on them, we're trying to keep them where they are, but all the chain increases above are coming and there's nothing we can do. In the end there have been a lot of challenges, but we seem to have adapted somehow, and so have the customers. Unfortunately, customers have also had to adapt to the new way of doing things and doing business. But looking at the figures, looking at the sales, looking at everything, it's a good year and it will end well. We'll see what next year brings.

40 years of LT40, 14 years of Wood-Mizer Romania. You were the first employee of Wood-Mizer Romania. How do these 14 years look back now?

AE: I was even recently in Poland in August for a meeting with the Wood-Mizer international board of directors. Together with the manager from Germany, we were invited to present our business model to colleagues from all over the world. To show what we have done or what we haven't done to have such good results both in Romania and in Germany. Making that presentation reminded me of these 14 years, of how I started everything and how I was the first employee. Even if it said "director", that first employee was doing loading and unloading, parcels and cleaning and everything. We've evolved a lot since then. Now we are 12 colleagues, we do a lot more things, and I say we do them much better. We clearly sell and serve a lot more customers than we could 14 years ago. I've evolved for the better, both as a person and as a company, in Romania, as a representative. Looking back I don't know if I would change anything. I like how the firm has grown. I like the people I have managed to gather, people who represent Wood-Mizer in Romania and with whom you, the clients, talk to every day. We're trying to do things even better, just to live up to the reputation that Wood-Mizer has around the world.

What do you plan next? How do you think they will influence the market, how will they support customers?

AE: We have plans, of course. They exist all the time. First of all to manage to honor all the requests we have because in some cases we fail. Here we have a minus. That means more people, it means bigger warehouse space, it means being ready for the growth that's coming. I say growth because Wood-Mizer has been on the global market for a long time and we have been active in Romania long enough to realize that no matter what the situation looks like now there will always be growth, even if, in some cases, there may be a decrease before.

How many people now work in Wood-Mizer? How are they organized by department?

AE: As I was saying, we are 12 colleagues in total. Three of them actively go on service visits, installations, because we have more than 1000 machines in the market. It's a relevant figure, recently calculated. Most of them are industrial because that's what we mainly sell. The 3 colleagues are coordinated by a Technical Director, Radu Hudea, who most of the customers know and have already spoken to. We have 2 colleagues who manage the sale of blades and parts and go on the field to customers' premises. Another colleague is dedicated to machinery sales, two others who manage the warehouse side, ordering, invoices and delivery of blades and parts to customers. One colleague manages the resharpening side, another for the production of blades, and I am responsible for managing it all.

What plans does Wood-Mizer Romania have in the medium and long term (5-10 years)? What do you think Wood-Mizer will look like in 14 years?

AE: The plans, mine at least, until they are approved by the global management, are about expansion. We have grown from year to year both in terms of people and in terms of sales level and in terms of space requirements, and it is precisely the latter - space requirements - that we do not have, and the existing space we cannot keep organized because it is small. In conclusion, this is my expansion plan. Expansion of office space, production space, storage space, everything related to a better workplace. I don't know how soon this will be implemented, it's a plan that is being worked on. We will see under what conditions the market will help us or not. We are constantly thinking about expansion on the sales side, with more colleagues, and on the service side to be able to manage the volume of installations and service that we have, so that we can reduce waiting times.

I know you're preparing something special for Wood-Mizer customers. What is it?

AE: We want to do Wood-Mizer Customer Day again this year. We have a very long hiatus since we haven't done the event. It was also because of the pandemic, there was also the hope that fairs would be organized and we would see you there. But that hope didn't come true so we're going to organize the Customer Day event. It will be a day on which I hope to see as many of you as possible and also to discuss the problems that are in the market - because we should not ignore them - the needs of the customers and our needs, because they are there too. But the main desire is to see each other again and have a good time together, which we haven't done since 2018. We also want to help you with good prices on everything from parts, blades and machinery at this event, as we have done every time. So, See you at Wood-Mizer Customer Day on 29 October in Sibiu at the Redal exhibition center, as in 2018.