WM’s market vision and the role of innovation

Innovation and flexibility are fundamental in market competition
Video conferencing and video calls were already used before February 2020, but they were not a standard practice. Face-to-face interaction was the preferred way of dealing with the customers.

“Before the pandemic, no customers ever dreamed of asking their supplier to deliver a thermoforming production plant, without asking for installation service. But then it happened!”. WM Thermoforming Machines’ Sales Director Luca Oliverio carefully describes the business dynamics that followed the Covid-19 pandemic.

“During the year 2020 WM sold worldwide for millions of euros, without ever meeting the customers physically. Sometimes the company found itself installing production systems without moving its staff to the site of installation.

Obviously, this was possible because the machines produced by WM were already equipped with different solutions, to facilitate the remote operations, such as the single-frame feature of all WM thermoformers. Before the pandemic, these characteristics were important, but after the global spread of the virus, they became indispensable and able to make a real difference.

This is the reason why WM is today the most reliable reference partner for the production and marketing of thermoforming machines able to meet the highest quality standards”.

Oliverio's words underlie the innovative corporate spirit that leads WM to constantly question the state of the market: "When thinking about companies with the most impressive growth over time, up to ten years ago we found brands like IBM, General Electric or, in any case, traditional companies. Today, all the most significant brands are “superstar” firms. In other words, these are companies capable of diversifying, innovating continuously and beating the competition with quick solutions, as Google, Amazon and Facebook do. Even for a manufacturer of production systems such as WM, the interactions with the market must now be in the order of weeks, not months. It is no longer enough to seek perfection, but also speed in perfection".

This is the marketing vision according to Luca Oliverio.

And what are the practical steps that the Swiss company is undertaking to reduce the gap with the customer?

"Now everyone wants their smartphone connected to their bank, to know in real-time what happens on their account and to be able to carry out transactions safely, wherever they are. At WM we look with interest at the developments in artificial intelligence, and we work to bring our thermoforming machines closer to humans.

We made possible to monitor the most important parameters remotely, to make the job of the operator using the machine easier, by means of structured logics and the implementation of advanced sensors. This reduces the possibility of human error, increasing the confidence of the operator, the awareness of the general manager and, therefore, efficiency in production".

“The ultimate goal of WM is not only working on the technical and structural improvement of its machines. It is also to find new application for existing technologies, taking inspiration from other sectors, exaclty like the superstar firms are doing.

And while doing so we are conscious that WM is an active part of the world of plastics, and that it’s our duty to keep an eye on technological developments without neglecting the importance of other factors, such as LCA (Life Cycle Assessment, the methodology that evaluates the environmental footprint of a product / service along its entire life cycle)", concluded Luca Oliverio.

In the end, the pandemic, which some define “Black Swan" (an unexpected event of great importance and with significant consequences), has represented an important stimulus for the manufacturing industry, pushing its players to provide the customers with more and better services.

Contact WM Thermoforming Machines on:
[email protected] for any questions or further information.
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