Olaf Krieg, ED divisional director and general manager for the Medium Voltage business, says the Customer Days were held as a way to inform both internal and external customers of the types of business that ED offers, showcase our new factory, and demonstrate our ability to meet local requirements linked to BBBEE and competitive supply chain procurement.

“By creating awareness among our customers of the substantial resources devoted to local manufacturing as well as offering technical presentations and practical demonstrations, this demonstrates our extensive knowledge to our customers and the extent to which this can be applied to help the customer be more successful,” he says.

Krieg says the feedback from those attending was overwhelmingly positive, with some larger customers expressing their surprise at the size of our operation and the range of our products and solutions.

“While some customers were unaware of exactly what we were doing or how much we are capable of, they were very impressed with our facilities, the way in which we structure our processes and how organised these are,” he says. “The orderliness and cleanliness of our manufacturing environment also made a huge impression.”

Having consolidated our manufacturing business at the new state-of-the-art factory premises at the N1 Business Park, Krieg says Siemens ED is now able to deliver a variety of different solutions manufactured to customer requirements from a single location.

“Working from a single, unified facility, we are also able to consolidate engineering, sales and marketing for the business units under one roof, making it easier for us to handle the often complex requirements specified by the customer,” he says, adding that customers appreciated the benefits of having a reliable supplier that understands the needs of their business, and that by addressing these correctly, how ED is able to help them to meet their objectives successfully and profitably.

“This was further reinforced by the variety of products we can deliver and the solutions we offer based on core customer needs, ranging from low end functionality to high end functionality that can be made available at any time,” he says. “We were also able to highlight our competence as a manufacturer as well as our ability to answer some tough questions. This was thanks in part to our colleagues from German and the USA, who used the interactive forum as an opportunity to demonstrate the advantage of a multinational like Siemens has in using international best practice and the ability to draw on global expertise to the benefit of local manufacture.”

Looking ahead, Krieg says that following the success of this first Customer Day – which will be repeated at least once a year, he says the initiative will be rolled out across the country.

“Rather than have our customers from other regions having to travel to Johannesburg to attend our annual event, in the future we will hold a series of regular road shows across the country that will allow us to take our solutions and services directly to the customers,” he concludes.