A challenging year for the European economy lies behind us. It is high time for the KSG Group to take stock and look back on the developments of the past twelve months as well as look ahead. This is exactly what CEO Margret Gleiniger and CTO Swen Klöden did in the year-end interview.
Interview: Margret Gleiniger - CEO
Margret Gleiniger's career at KSG began back in 1984 as Assistant to the Director of Production. Since November 2018, she has held the position of CEO of the KSG Group with its sites in Gornsdorf and Gars. She has been involved in regional and national associations for many years, where she has campaigned for key issues such as training and climate protection.
Energy costs have risen immensely in 2022 and will continue to rise. How has this affected the KSG Group so far and which areas of the company are particularly affected?
M. Gleiniger: Just like many industrial companies in Germany, we are also feeling the effects of the price increase. Our Gornsdorf site is particularly affected by this, where we have recorded a seven-figure increase in energy costs and expect further increases in 2023. For us, in turn, this means continuing to initiate measures to save energy, as we already did last year.
What measures has the KSG Group taken in view of the high energy prices?
S. Klöden: As a short-term cost-saving measure, for example, we have shut down our administration building in Gornsdorf. This means that we have allowed our employees to work more from home wherever possible. At the same time, we created space in our production buildings to accommodate our administrative colleagues. Since September, we have been able to save 7 % of electricity consumption and 20 % of gas consumption compared to the same months last year - without having to reduce our production. In addition, this year we have developed a comprehensive transformation concept that shows how we can save electricity and gas in the medium and long term.
M. Gleiniger: The concept gives us an optimal overview of which adjustments need to be made and which measures need to be implemented in the coming years. We have set ourselves ambitious goals: We want to become independent of gas by the end of 2024 and reduce our CO2 emissions by 40 percent within ten years. Thanks to wood chip heating and the targeted use of waste heat from production, we already no longer need gas for our plant in Gars, Austria, and we want to achieve the same for the Gornsdorf site.
The situation on the commodities markets was also volatile this year. How did the KSG Group fare in this respect?
M. Gleiniger: We actually got through 2022 quite well in the area of raw materials and supply chains. There was only a tense situation with basic chemicals in the fall, but this has eased again to date and fortunately did not result in a production stop. A change of course in purchasing has therefore not been necessary so far, but we have made greater use of second and third-party suppliers than usual and increased our stocks in certain areas.
S. Klöden: As the KSG Group, we are generally very well positioned here and always have a backup in case the worst comes to the worst. Apart from this, however, we are also affected by a significant cost increase in the high seven-figure range for raw materials - as in the energy sector - which will continue to affect us beyond 2022. Unfortunately, the electricity price brake will not bring any savings compared to 2022, but will lead to a further increase in energy costs.
In your experience, what role do technological innovations play in overcoming crises?
S. Klöden: As the energy crisis last year and the coronavirus pandemic over the past two years have shown, technology and innovation play a very important role here. The keyword here is digitalization. This is because - as we have experienced for ourselves - it goes hand in hand with numerous opportunities for communication and interaction. For example, when there were still travel restrictions, that didn't stop us from purchasing a machine from the Asian region. Although the machine manufacturer was unable to be here on site, we connected with him via video conference and ultimately successfully commissioned the system using the remote maintenance options.
Interview: Swen Klöden - CTO
Swen Klöden started as Plant Manager for the Gornsdorf site in 2018 and has held the position of CTO since January 2020. His main tasks include technical product development and the evaluation of new technologies. Beyond the boundaries of KSG, he is involved in the Industry and Innovation Committee of the Chemnitz Chamber of Industry and Commerce and as a board member of the ZVEI regional group for Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt.
M. Gleiniger: We have also pushed ahead with digitalization within the KSG Group, both in the administrative area and in production and sales. We see great potential here - not only in overcoming potential crises, but above all in ensuring efficient, smooth and sustainable processes that will be used not only internally, but above all in cooperation with our customers.
In fact, crises are often seen as an opportunity to change something or even to create something positive. Can you confirm this?
S. Klöden: We can indeed do that. For example, the pandemic has helped to increase the willingness for digitalization within our company. It's great to see the ideas that have developed. And there are still new ideas about what else we could do. Who would have thought before coronavirus how quickly and easily digital meetings and solutions could be introduced across the board? A lot has also changed in the workforce. Among other things, we attribute this to the spatial restructuring as part of the energy-saving measures. The fact that we are now sitting in a "mixed" office due to the temporary closure of the administration building has broken down barriers and brought us even closer together.
M. Gleiniger: Last but not least, the current tense situation on the energy and raw materials markets naturally also shows us how important measures in the areas of energy efficiency and sustainability are. As one of the few PCB manufacturers that produces exclusively in Europe, we have found that we have already done our homework properly in many areas - be it in the circular economy or in the use of waste heat from production at the Gars site. Now we want to take the further steps that are still necessary in Gornsdorf and see ourselves very well positioned for the future.
Do you have any questions about digitalization and energy efficiency at the KSG Group? Then please leave a comment! We look forward to your feedback.
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