Uster Technologies AG, the global market leader in textile quality control, has a legacy of more than 60 years of expertise in testing and monitoring solutions dedicated to the measurement of quality of fibers, yarns and fabrics. It has now become the preferred choice of the textile industry. Needless to say Uster’s stall at the India ITME 2016 trade show was buzzing with activity.
In an exclusive chat with The Textile Magazine on the sidelines of what was a busy India ITME 2016 for Uster, Mr. Thomas Nasiou, CEO, dealt in detail with various aspects, including the company’s core philosophies, key areas of strength, views on acquisitions, growth strategies and the focus on the Indian market, among others.
Here are the edited excerpts:
It has been little less than a year since Mr. Thomas Nasiou took over as the CEO of the company. Reflecting on the stint so far, Mr. Nasiou pointed out that the work culture at Uster is not alien to him since he has been part of the organization for around a decade now. “The company, staff, customers, environment, etc., are all familiar to me. I joined Uster as a Textile Technologist in 2006. In 2009 I took over as the Product Manager before heading the Textile Technology initiatives of the group. The other fact that helped me was that the transition from my predecessor went off very smoothly. After becoming the CEO I just focused on keeping our team on staying aligned to do the important things and sticking to the core philosophy of always striving to create value and delivering it to our customers,” commented Mr. Nasiou on his journey so far in the company.
Vision for the company
Mr. Nasiou stated: “As mentioned earlier to create and provide value for our customers. However, it is easier said than done. Whatever we are doing needs to be relevant to our customers, in order to help them deal with the challenges they face and provide them solutions. In this direction we have introduced new innovations at ITMA Milan under the theme of managing a spinning mill with quality in mind. We have continued this during ITMA Asia and ITME. At the same time, it is also important that we create the right conditions in our organization that will motivate our team to give their best when it comes to creating the future and serving our customers well.”
Uster, with its cutting-edge technology products, is considered the gold standard in the field of testing quality and monitoring solutions. The company products have been raising the benchmark ever so higher over the years. According to Mr. Nasiou it is hard to pinpoint a particular reason as to how the company has been able to upgrade its standards.
Dwelling on the point, Mr. Nasiou opined: “I cannot give you a recipe for success. However, we know how to find the answer. The answer is ‘customers’. If you understand the business and pain points of the customers, together with our experience and technology, we can create products that help customers to deal with their challenges. The second important thing is anticipation of the future. We are constantly asking ourselves what are the challenges that our customers will face in the future. This helps us to stay ahead of the competition.”
Replying to the question as to what extent have been customers in places such as India been able to utilize the potential of Uster’s vast expertise, Mr. Nasiou felt that customers see Uster’s solutions as an opportunity to move their organization forward. Continuing further he said: “Customers see our products as an investment. We educate them on utilizing our products to solve their challenges. We show them the way.”
Highlighting another key strong point of the company, Mr. Nasiou remarked: “Proximity to the customer is key strength of Uster. By proximity I don’t mean only when they are buying the product. That’s just one part of the process. In fact, we don’t want to call our customers as ‘customers’. They are ‘partners’ for us. For us it is about continuing the close contact even after the sales through the kind of support that we provide to help them utilize the product and help on betterment of their business.”
Adoption of new technologies
Mr. Nasiou felt that Indian customers were pioneers when it comes to adoption of latest technologies. Putting his finger to a few key reasons behind it, Mr. Nasiou remarked: “Textiles is not something that came yesterday to India. It has been part of the Indian culture and tradition for well over two thousand years now. The other reason is the Indian spirit, i.e., curiosity, creativity, forward looking, looking for opportunities rather than problems, availability of raw materials, skilled and experienced man power, etc. All these aspects make the Indian market pioneers when it comes to accepting new technologies.”
The CEO of Uster didn’t quite agree on the perception that Uster Technologies only caters to the premium category of mills. Explaining why it is not so, Mr. Nasiou said: “Today our products are in all segments of textile mills. I would like you to think in a different way. We are providing value. This ‘value’ is necessary for entrepreneurs who are thinking ahead, managing their mills built on a foundation of the right quality for sustained profitability and importantly their market reputation. Most Uster customers, irrespective of the segment they are in are companies who want to move ahead onto the next league or defend their well-deserved market position.”
Value creation the key to Uster success
In his reply to the question as to given the competitive nature of the market segment the company is competing in, why should someone buy an Uster product, Mr. Nasiou gave a straightforward reply, stating: “At the cost of sounding repetitive, people need to buy our product because of its value which I explained before. Of course, we too discuss the price. But it is not the starting point for us. We try to convince customers on making an investment that will make a significant difference and create long-term value for them. There is no need to talk about price this way.”
According to Mr. Nasiou 2016 has been a good year for the company globally, having panned out better than what was originally anticipated. He added: “Of course, these days it is hard to forecast the future, both long as well as short term. Our philosophy at Uster is simple – ‘To be fit and ready for the best and worst’.”
Speaking about the company’s acquisition of Jossi recently and whether it is open to further acquisitions, Mr. Nasiou mentioned: “The Jossi acquisition was for strategic purposes. We were not looking to add revenue only. It helped us enable a completion of solutions that we offer to the market. While we are not actively looking out for acquisitions, we are always alert to market opportunities. We will cross the bridge once we come to it.”
Sharing his views on the three odd years that Toyota had acquired Uster, Mr. Nasiou said that it was great to be part of the Toyota family and both the entities share a relationship that is based on mutual respect and trust. Continuing on the topic, Mr. Nasiou remarked: “It is after we became part of the Toyota family that the acquisition of Jossi took place. Uster continues to invest a considerable amount in R&D, innovation and marketing.”
India – a key market for Uster
For India’s textile industry, the future is bright indeed. India will ultimately become the world’s biggest cotton producer. However, infrastructure, quality and value issues will remain to be addressed if the whole sector is to reach its full potential in the competitive global marketplace. India is the second biggest market for Uster after China. “At Uster we will continue to focus on innovation and technology that is relevant for the Indian market to strengthen its position. We have a very good team in India and I am confident that they will help further consolidate our strong position in this key market,” said Mr. Nasiou.
The company wants to continue focusing on creating value to its customers in the future. Uster Technologies, according to Mr. Nasiou, has got a very clear roadmap in front of it. “Our target is very simple. It is in fact the same every year. We want to serve our customers by doing the right things. We want to stay close to the customers, listen to them, make the right products and provide the right services. At the end of it, this process is sure to yield the right results,” said Mr. Nasiou in his concluding remark.
By K. Gopalakrishnan & M.K. Prabhakar