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Barrot puts it this way: \u201cI want to have a visible presence at the customer. This is where the action is. Direct access to the Lead Centers is just as important to me, since the Lead Centers develop and produce the solutions for our customers.\u201d In the future, he would like to keep moving on the same course \u2013 taking the \u201cSwiss route\u201d \u2013 that the Service Center has charted. \u201cWe have an agile way of operating. Everyone is a small-scale entrepreneur here. This is what Guido has established. What he\u2019s done here is fantastic. He has cleared the way for me.\u201d At times, Barrot gained experience in management at a global mechanical seal manufacturer in Switzerland between 2010 and 2016. But Br\u00fcggemann was able to lure him back to the Z\u00fcrich Service Center \u2013 at first for the number-two position and eventually for the top spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Revenue 20 Times as High<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Br\u00fcggemann\u2019s time at Freudenberg\u2019s Z\u00fcrich office began in the late 1980s. Right from the start, he had an impact on the Service Center\u2019s business, first in the field in western Switzerland, and for the entire Confederation as the new millennium began. He talks about perseverance and a sustained transformation as he compares the 1989 strategy and financials with those of today. Revenue is now 20 times what it was back then, with not even twice as many employees. The share of costs as a percentage of revenue has seen a huge decline, \u201cand earnings naturally have to be right as well,\u201d he said. What was once 90 percent catalog business with standard items has now become 90 percent customer-specific orders. Br\u00fcggemann\u2019s strategy was to concentrate on major, high-revenue customers and offer them a full selection. \u201cWe also do the small stuff for the big companies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The purchase of trade ware externally was also part of the formula. \u201cThis strengthens our position in difficult negotiations,\u201d Br\u00fcggemann said. It was a pioneering achievement of today\u2019s Z\u00fcrich Service Center to complement the FST product portfolio by purchasing trade ware from outside the Freudenberg Group. Br\u00fcggemann was one of the first Freudenberg executives to establish a network for this purpose in Italy. \u201cThis service to the customer is also part of sustained customer engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Company Is Close to My Heart\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As far as Br\u00fcggemann is concerned, the factors in the \u00adService Center\u2019s success have included superb service, flexibility and speed. Each is an element of a customer focus that is lived and breathed. \u201cOur warehouse is one of the core elements of our success,\u201d he said. Across every market segment, it ensures fast availability. Distribution services include packaging \u2013 now even in a clean room \u2013 and the assembly of component kits. In a special lab, for example, complaints can be immediately assessed. \u201cThat means we can quickly provide information to the customer,\u201d he said. He considers the bundling of technical competencies in the \u201cLube & Seal\u201d initiative with those of corporate colleagues at Kl\u00fcber Lubrication on the same floor to be another guarantee of success. \u201cThe crucial part is still the technology. It has to win the customer over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Technology is also one of the main reasons why \u00adBr\u00fcggemann has remained loyal to Freudenberg over more than three decades. \u201cFreudenberg really has tremendous products and technologies. The people in the Lead Centers and at the production sites, the development engineers, the material and technology experts \u2013 they embody the true Freudenberg spirit.\u201d That is exactly what he enjoys to this day. \u201cMy heart still beats for the company. There\u2019s a lot of passion there. When I close my laptop late in the evening, I want to have a good feeling. I want to believe that today I did something concrete and measurable \u2013 even quantifiable in euros \u2013 for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why he won\u2019t disappear overnight from the Freudenberg scene after his retirement and will still be contributing his experience, his expertise and his unbridled energy to the company. But perhaps there will be more time for him to relax and spend time with his life partner, his guitar-playing \u2013 \u201cfrom Bob Dylan to the Rolling Stones\u201d\u2013 or his home renovation project.<\/p>\n