The first 70 years for Endress+Hauser were filled with successes and achievements. The company grew from a small, family-owned business in Europe to a global enterprise and leader in the process control and automation space. But its story still has more to be written, and CEO Matthias Altendorf expects the journey to continue while upholding Endress+Hauser’s spirit, quality and power of innovation.
Endress+Hauser has a history of outperforming the markets and has never given in to the temptation to strive solely for low costs, even during challenging times such as the recent global pandemic. Altendorf says that will stay the same, even as new challenges, such as increasing globalization, emerge over the coming years.
Its strategic approach: “From the region, for the region,” has enabled Endress+Hauser to gain market share over the past two decades. Still, globalization has made it essential to strike a new balance between proximity to customers, the resilience of supply chains and the ability to innovate.
“We must meet the changing needs of our customers while maintaining our operational performance,” Altendorf says.
Globalization is one of many disrupters posing challenges to companies these days. Like its peers, Endress+Hauser has experienced fundamental changes in the process industry, particularly over the past two decades. Those changes are marked by an increasing level of digitalization and the push for automation to increase productivity. Meanwhile, the advent of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has added new domains such as mobile applications, cloud computing, Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Analytics as a Service (AaaS), digital twins, and augmented and virtual reality.
Altendorf says those changes can be a positive for the industry, provided they are met with the right course of action. He says it is inspiring to see how Endress+Hauser has developed as a company on a global scale while maintaining its focus on doing right by people and their futures.
“It is encouraging to know that we can contribute with our work to make the world a better place,” he says. “Through process and lab instrumentation and automation, we enable companies, communities and countries to enhance the lives of countless individuals.”
The company’s guiding principle has always been to remain open to the world and actively engage and learn from it. To continue doing so, Altendorf says they must maintain the freedom to move and operate unencumbered. This requires financial stability beyond the mere maximization of shareholder value. It requires a human-centric business approach.
“We believe that our customers, employees, shareholders and the communities we serve are all vital components of this approach. To this end, we have cultivated a culture that dispels fear and fosters stability, which becomes the fertile ground for creativity,” he says. “Such a culture empowers and enables people to give their best.”
The company’s direct link to its customers and ability to design a value stream to cater to customers’ needs is a unique proposition that Endress+Hauser prides itself upon. The goal is always to remain innovative, relevant and valuable to customers. The best way to maintain that success is to seek a “deeper understanding of their challenges,” according to Altendorf.
Endress+Hauser can look to the future with confidence and to the past with pride.
“The world needs process automation to improve in every aspect, and we are glad to be part of that journey,” Altendorf said.
