At the Technology Days event hosted by Paul Horn GmbH at its world headquarters in Tubingen, MTDCNC had an exclusive interview with Lothar Horn the Managing Director since 1995 that joined the global cutting tool business in 1991. Here, MTDCNC’s Lindsey puts the questions to the new MD..
Lindsey confirmed that when the Managing Director joined the company in 1991, one of the priorities was t broaden the product range and establish the business on an international footing. When asked how you have achieved this, Lothar Horn says: “When you look back today, what we have done has been done in the right way. But it wasn’t a problem of product and more a problem for sales. This is because first, we had a lot independent partnerships and it wasn’t their priority to sell Horn products. So, our organisation changed to employ our own people with an interest in their own products. This also led the customers to tell us about their additional needs. This allowed us to develop more programs and tools.”
When asked how the company has changed over the years, Lothar Horn continues: “We have changed, yes. We have a lot of international people, a lot of international companies – but the heart of the company is the same. We started with our focus on the customer and now in 2019, our heart is always with the customer. We are always looking to do better, better for the customer and the possibilities for our business and to optimise production. That was a target when the company was established and it is also the target we have today.”
Asked how the company investment will be spent over the coming years, Lothar Horn says: “IN the last few years we have spent a lot of money and today we have an investment of €23 to €25m Euros. This because the next step is not only our ‘heart for the customer’ but also our ‘heart for our technology’. We look at what we can do better because before we look at what we can do better for the customer, we have to see what we can do better for our company. The world is also changing and we have to look at what is possible, not only for today but also into the future. We have to make the market for us.”
What are the plans for the next 5-10 years? With a comedic grin, Lothar Horn says: “In that time, I will be looking for my pension. But what is in five years, we don’t know. You see the economy around the world and it is not definitely stable. There are a lot of differences and our target remains to grow. We have additional ground, we have the possibility to go forward with new technology, machines and people – that is our target – but we don’t know what is coming.”
Alluding to the family ethos of the company, Lothar Horn says: “My father was the best teacher for me. I learnt a lot of things and what I feel today is the heart of my father and his plans are being moved forward to the next generation. We are not a company with undefined owners, we live for our customers and it is fantastic to say that we are in the third generation that is taking the company the same way.”
