Germany-based lift machine manufacturer Ziehl-Abegg has had a highly rewarding relationship with ILE for more than twenty years. Today, the ILE team is continuing to deepen the collaboration by representing a significant portion of their business in the UK. In this interview with Lee Overton, National Sales Manager for the Drive Division, we discover what makes the ILE and Ziehl-Abegg partnership so successful.
A match made in lift heaven
“ILE and Ziehl-Abegg share a similar approach to business,” Lee explains. “Despite us being close to a billion-euro turnover operation, we’re still family-owned and we still have that family mentality that runs through the corporate system.”
ILE, also being a family-driven business, has always valued building strong relationships with suppliers and its people, going beyond the commercial and contractual conversations.
“Today, the UK is the fastest growing market for Ziehl-Abegg’s machine division. Even after the difficult pandemic years, our turnover more than doubled and we now continue to expand in the UK; in no small part thanks to ILE,” Lee says.
The strengths of a good partnership
“Ziehl-Abegg doesn’t just sell lift machines to the UK through ILE,” Lee says. “We have other customers, large, medium and small lift companies, who don’t have the budget or need for a high-quality lift package from ILE.”
He highlights that the strengths that ILE offer to customers go far beyond the role of a standard distributor, as the team brings a unique level of application and engineering knowledge to the table.
The element of trust
Every manufacturer wants to see their products shine, no matter the circumstances. In other words – reputation matters. This is something that very much rings true for Lee.
Lee explains that when a customer buys a machine from Ziehl-Abegg and a controller from another third party, they end up with one company responsible for the drive and another for the machine – with complexities that can occur on either side.
This also ties into another role that ILE plays, which is that of equipment advisor. “Choosing the right equipment isn’t always straightforward. ILE will often direct the customer to what machine is actually needed, which may be different from what was originally specified. And when engaging with us, ILE can apply their knowledge about a customer and an application, to ensure the right equipment gets ordered and installed.”
In some cases, Ziehl-Abegg may quote for what – on paper – appears to be the most cost-effective solution based on the information they’ve been given, but it may not always be the appropriate equipment. That’s where ILE is able to offer tremendous value; to help both sides avoid pitfalls and make a more informed decision about what a specific application needs.
“For us, it’s a real strength to work together with ILE,” Lee says. “It removes some of the risk for both us and the client, as their team understands the equipment as well as the application.”
Product roadmaps, innovation, and vision
As a business, Ziehl-Abegg has always prioritized innovation and product development. Lee describes the company as a hive of activity, with several major products in the works.
“We typically work to a three-year plan, in terms of R&D and production,” he explains. “We’re constantly developing our inverters to be technically stronger and more feature-rich. However, we are always working on our machine technology. Most recently we launched the SM315, for payloads of up to five tonnes and large traction sheaves, which took us a good couple of years through R&D and testing into full production. And now we have a new generation of machine technology coming through the pipeline.”
Another big development for Ziehl-Abegg is the increased use of automation in production. Previously many processes have been manual, but as the business pushes forward there is more emphasis on automating the production line. The manufacturing process now uses robotics across a larger number of production areas which will allow them to focus even more on innovation and process improvement. Lee expects these improvements to result in a wider product range, shorter lead times and lower production costs overall.
Quality and warranty
The standard warranty time Ziehl-Abegg will offer on their machines is one year, while ILE underwrites a three-year warranty on the same machines. This is based purely on the fact that ILE knows the products so well and trusts in their performance, the level of quality, and the support provided.
Lee knows that their customer base is motivated by quality and durability, which is a major driver for the business. “We sell on quality, really,” he says. “We’re definitely not the cheapest in the industry, but we help customers realise the investment over the entire lifetime of a lift. The cliché of German engineering definitely holds true – and we take quality very seriously.”
While Ziehl-Abegg are responsible for the technical support of their products and have a UK-based support team, ILE typically provide an initial level of support for end customers. Still, the two teams collaborate closely on technical support if ILE happens to not have the resources available, or if an unexpected issue was to occur.
The partnership with ILE
When it comes to working with the ILE team, Lee has only good things to say. “From electrical and mechanical surveys, to design of both the electrical and mechanical parts…
Lee describes his sales and technical counterparts at ILE as self-sufficient and proactive. They obviously represent a large part of Ziehl-Abegg UK’s machine business after being one of their biggest customers for so many years, and Lee is pleased to have such a capable team bringing their equipment into the UK.
“The relationship is great,” he sums up, “and we’re looking forward to building on that foundation for many years to come.”
Discover our range of Ziehl-Abegg products here.