Growth at Stahlgruber

Growth at Stahlgruber

Automotive Industry: Mr. Kowarz, how did the first half of 2018 go for Stahlgruber Austria?
Hermann Kowarz:We are on track and are once again recording a significant increase in sales compared to the previous year. We opened our 19th store in Krems in February. We have also further strengthened our sales. We have now started building our 20th sales store in Freistadt. The opening will be at the beginning of 2019 (see box below).

Will the sales store management get another deserving Stahlgruber employee?
Yes, Klaus Huemer, field sales representative for this area, will be responsible for the sales department management. A deserving employee who has been working at Stahlgruber Austria since 2005.

You have been the sole managing director for 19 years now. When you became managing director there were five stores, today the 20th is being built. How did the idea come about to strategically place sales outlets across Austria and gradually build an average of one new sales outlet per year?
The primary goal originally wasn't to build a new store every year, but rather to strengthen ourselves. The market situation and our continuous increases then ensured this momentum. Due to the constant growth, we have simply reached the limits of our capacity.

You recently emphasized that 2017 was the best year to date for Stahlgruber Austria. The 130 million euro sales threshold was exceeded for the first time.
This year we are expected to break the 140 million euro mark. We are growing in every single segment.

How do you see the current market situation?
The market is traditionally very competitive. Mainly due to oversupply. We try to be better than the others. Our biggest assets are our logistics, in this area we are demonstrably better than the others, and our pricing. Apart from that, I always strive to have the best employees. We tear ourselves apart for our customers, that's the truth.

How important is training for your customers?
We offer our customers high-quality, professional training courses based on the needs of our customers. We have an excellent understanding with our suppliers and are able to organize informative and exciting training courses flexibly and at short notice. The training takes place in our sales outlets, which are located throughout Austria.

How important is AutoZum for you?
AutoZum is extremely important for us. For us, this trade fair is exactly the right thing because the customer gets an overall overview and can compare. We don't shy away from comparison, we even look for it because we are transparent and have nothing to hide. We will present our complete workshop equipment program on a stand area of ​​around 700 m2. All of our key suppliers are on board. Our focus is on workshop equipment.

To what extent is the trade fair measurably important for your business?
In an AutoZum year we process the orders until around June. When it comes to workshop equipment, an AutoZum year is stronger than a non-AutoZum year.

It is sometimes criticized that AutoZum always runs the same way. That nothing significant changes.
Yes, that's true and that's a good thing. Cars still have four wheels. The fair is on point.

Final question: How is the “Masterful” workshop concept developing?
With currently 208 partners, we have excellent area coverage. Continuous quality optimization is our maxim.

"It's good that AutoZum always runs essentially the same way. Cars still have four wheels. The trade fair is on point."HERMANN KOWARZ, CEO STAHLGRUBER AUSTRIA