Pioneering new ways

He could have played it safe and simply continued his father’s coppersmithing business, but that was not for Johann Conrad Fischer. Instead, he opened a small foundry in 1802 and began to develop new metallurgic processes, exporting products abroad and building a network of scientists, entrepreneurs and personalities throughout Europe. With daring, openness, perseverance, and a willingness to experiment – in short, with his pioneering spirit – he laid the foundation for what GF is today. And to this day, GF keeps creating new solutions that help overcome many challenges and serve many needs, constantly developing new markets and business areas – and consistently improving products and services, together with its customers.

But what exactly does “pioneering spirit” mean in the present day and age? Who is discovering tomorrow’s markets for GF? How are they developed, and how are they retained? Those are the questions we pursued when writing this story. We will share this much up front: Johann Conrad Fischer’s pioneering spirit continues to have an impact across all divisions, and it’s more alive than ever.

The team was set up in September 2021 as part of Strategy 2025 to identify potential for future growth. Instead of only pursuing this question selectively or locally, as in the past, Team New Ventures has implemented a systematic approach and corresponding methods. “We’re not just looking at the pure product, but rather sounding out the entire ecosystem,” Simone says. “What is the market environment like? How large is the potential for GF? Is there room for further development and new business models?”

There are six employees in the team, each with their own focus – design thinking, research, sustainability and digitalization – and working in close coordination with New Ventures colleagues in the US and Asia. This global network focuses on sustainable business areas and business models and has defined a standard process to identify new ones. “We collaborate closely at all levels with the sales companies, experts, or even research institutes and other companies to build the know-how we need,” Simone explains. “We know what questions need to be answered, but the paths that lead to answers are extremely diverse.”

To identify new business areas, the team analyzes megatrends and their potential impact on GF, focusing on increasing water scarcity, the need for renewable energy generation and storage technologies, digitalization and hyperconnectivity, circular economy, population growth, and urbanization and the aging of society.

Based on these, but also on input from internal and external players, ideas are collected in the “ ideation” phase for initial evaluation. The range of topics includes nuclear fusion or redox flow batteries, which are increasingly important as stationary intermediate storage facilities, but also ideas such as leasing or the circular economy. In the subsequent “analysis” phase, the team evaluates which of the new business opportunities are most promising for GF. These are then further developed in the “exploration” phase, which involves analyzing feasibility and the long-term prospects for success. “Which players are working on this, which is the leading technology or which one is being developed? We try to understand how the market works and identify the business potential for us,” Simone says. “We then approach companies to jointly determine what they need. This creates the basis for us to develop new solutions and services.”

At present, there are a number of topics in the next phase, “acceleration.” These are considered capable of development and are therefore being driven resolutely forward. Concrete examples include partnerships in the hydrogen sector (see also page 26), floating wind turbines, fish farms, and desalination plants for alternative water extraction, as well as direct lithium extraction, which promises an efficiency increase, reduced environmental impact and higher flexibility.

The new business field of battery production is also well advanced, as a result of the current trend towards the electrification of vehicles, where the first orders have already been won. The batteries required for this are manufactured in climate-controlled rooms where humidity is very low. “We have the appropriate COOL-FIT solutions,” Simone says. “They are more energy efficient than comparable post-insulated metal piping systems and weigh very little.” The latter is important because air-conditioning units in factories are usually mounted on the roof. Many production sites are in the planning stage, but there are still few specialized solutions and little experience to draw from. “The market is just developing, and we’re an early contender,” Simone says.

To help GF gain an optimal starting position in this new business area, Marthinus Venter, an expert in battery production, was hired to build a network with his team of four regional business developers. Simone continues: “The potential sales volume is gigantic, even when you only look at COOL-FIT. And this does not yet take into account other opportunities, such as in water treatment.”

For Simone, pioneering at GF means being open to new things and focusing on the positive aspects, while having a realistic picture of the market. “We have a great culture. If anyone has a good idea, they are given plenty of freedom to implement it. Mistakes and problems are part of this process. When they show up, we find a way to resolve them.”

When it comes to developing a market once it has been identified, there is probably no one who can tell you more about this than Mujia Zhang, the Delegate of the CEO for China. More than two decades ago, he started to develop the Chinese market for GF. Today, it has become the most important market for all three divisions.

Mujia worked for a renowned Swiss company in the 1990s before joining GF in 2002. “GF had a vision for China, and it was my job to make it happen through concrete steps. No plant, no team and no clear plans – there were quite a few challenges. My first measure was to close the Zhangjiagang plant. It did not provide the basic ingredients I needed to grow the business in terms of location, facilities and talents. I traveled extensively to find a strategic location for a new plant and finally opted for Suzhou because it offered a solid infrastructure, a positive business environment, favorable logistics and, back then, a growing labor market.”

Mujia’s hiring strategy was also new. By giving talented people with no previous experience the opportunity to establish GF in China, he was able to build a loyal and strong team in the long term, without paying high salaries right from the start. “It’s important to me to understand the true potential of people themselves and not just rely on their past experiences. I want the team to learn and grow together with the company.”

For Mujia, pioneering in China means continuously developing the business. “When we started, GF had a clear technological advantage. Today, it is increasingly challenging to maintain this leading position, because everyone is quickly learning, investing and catching up. We have to adapt our design and development processes to local needs, because Chinese customers demand a fast service in addition to good quality.”

Startup Autobahn specializes in mobility. The platform matches start-ups with companies to promote innovative ideas and strengthen collaboration. GF has been one of 32 partners since 2022, gaining access to events, exhibitions, innovation days and roundtables. These provide start-ups with a platform to present their solutions, or to find customers or sparring partners. The underlying idea is that, if companies are able to draw on the know-how of hubs, universities or other partners, they usually accomplish a higher level of innovation more quickly and at a lower cost than if they had to build everything from scratch by themselves.

While events like meetups, roundtables and the Startup Autobahn EXPO mainly promote networking, the main benefit of the partnership is what’s called the dealflow, which means that Plug and Play matches start-ups and companies on a one-to-one basis. In February 2022, for example, GF put out a request to monitor the carbon footprint of its products. What GF was looking for was a software application that could cover these parameters: raw materials, transport routes and every production step. Two weeks later, Plug and Play sent a list of 22 companies that could provide appropriate solutions. The GF departments for innovation and sustainability reviewed the list and had the solutions of six start-ups presented to them a few weeks later.

Eleven weeks after the original request, the contract was signed with Berlin-based start-up Carbmee, which now supports GF with its carbon management solution. “Thanks to this collaboration, we could develop a solution quickly,” Sabine says. “In the future, CO2 monitoring will be the norm and, especially in the automotive sector, a prerequisite for getting any orders at all.” Now GF has become one the first automotive cast parts suppliers to boast TÜV certification. The monitoring also allows GF to find out how it can further reduce its footprint, either by using other types of energy or by sourcing alternative raw materials.

“My impression is that GF has always broken new ground and has evolved to be successful in the long term. Otherwise, the company wouldn’t have been around for close to 220 years,” says Madeline Schmeiser, Partner Success Manager at Plug and Play. “Today, the foundation is being laid at GF for pioneering achievements covering the next 20 to 30 years. The employees I know are passionate about being a part of the long-term success of the business, shaping the collaborative culture and driving it forward.”

Once you secure market share, one of the biggest challenges is to maintain it. The key to success is driving innovation and continuously improving products and services. At GF, this is often done in collaboration with customers. “For me, pioneering spirit means using creative methods to come up with new ways of doing things, as well as listening carefully to customers and colleagues,” says Marco Lirsch, Sales Engineer at GF, Germany ( Southwest region). “While I can’t reinvent the wheel every day, I might be able to make it run a little better.”

One of Marco’s most important customers is toolmaker Fritz Stepper GmbH, a multi-award-winning innovation leader. Marco took over his current area of responsibility in Germany from his father in 2017, so the relationship with Stepper dates back several decades and it‘s based on a strong foundation of mutual trust. “ Stepper has very high demands when it comes to precision and performance, and the company inspires us to keep growing and making better machines. We regularly exchange experiences and information: In which direction is the market headed? What new features are in demand?” Marco says.

The high-precision CUT X 350 wire-cutting EDM machine, for example, is a GF bestseller. “But customer demands are constantly on the rise,” Marco says. “ Customers expect the precision to get even better, and the same goes for repeatability to make production faster and more cost-effective. Also, the younger generation takes an almost self-explanatory user interface for granted.”

That’s why GF recently revamped the machine’s control system. “Stepper users gave us feedback on what’s important to them, what they would like to see, and where they see room for improvement. They explained to us, from the user’s point of view, how the control menu should be structured and how it should integrate with the company network.” This wish list was considered during development, Marco says. “ Experience has shown that the needs of this important customer perfectly match the expectations of the global market.” This means that other customers also benefit from GF’s collaboration with Stepper. “Testing new generations of machines takes us to new regions all the time,” Marco says. “And that works for me, since discovering new things and adapting and growing personally are important aspects of my job.”

Retaining customers and continually improving the relationship with them is also the goal of Mame-Kouna Top, Business Developer Service & Success, and Parag Patil, Head Digital Products & Digital Business. The My rConnect platform they developed takes customer service to a new level, enabing fast digital support for all GF machines in operation. With the newly developed Success Packs, customers can book various service packages in a subscription model, according to their needs. Speedy access and extended remote support, for example, are services that guarantee customers a one-hour response time and extended remote support around the clock. In addition to reactive support in case of issues, proactive support is also part of the portfolio, with a yearly preventive maintenance or a machine warranty extension. These GF services help customers to keep their machines in top condition.

If an issue arises, customers can go to the webbased platform and create a service ticket via phone or computer. “For connected machines, our service agents can then log on directly to the customer’s machine via the digital platform to do the diagnostic remotely – no matter where they are, even if they’re on the road,” Mame- Kouna says. What’s called the Process Inspector creates digital twins for jobs being processed at the customer site, allowing agents to view a 3D representation of the finished job and the tasks it is performing – in real time. “You can check all the details of the software and find out what’s causing the problem.”

Previously, customers would call and the GF agent in charge tried to understand the situation – a process that took a long time and was not user-friendly. Every region had its own services and technologies. Field service personnel had different levels of knowledge, and the service cost was different in each region. “Now we have a single digital offering for everyone that costs the same anywhere and can be booked with great flexibility.”

The GF Strategy 2025 follows the overall objective of achieving growth for customers by providing high-value solutions. This is not possible without a pioneering spirit. Consistent further development is essential to remain innovative and competitive.

Keeping the spirit alive in all its facets over many years is an ongoing challenge for a company with 15‘000 employees. The many examples shared in this story show how we can and do succeed. This is because we embrace the same pioneering spirit that gave rise to the small foundry built in Schaffhausen in 1802. And just as Johann Conrad Fischer once did, creative leaders at GF and their motivated teams are taking GF into the future today.