The first 70 years for Endress+Hauser were filled with successes and achievements. The company grew from a small, family-owned business in Europe to a global enterprise and leader in the process control and automation space. But its story still has more to be written, and CEO Matthias Altendorf expects the journey to continue while upholding Endress+Hauser’s spirit, quality and power of innovation.
Endress+Hauser has a history of outperforming the markets and has never given in to the temptation to strive solely for low costs, even during challenging times such as the recent global pandemic. Altendorf says that will stay the same, even as new challenges, such as increasing globalization, emerge over the coming years.
Its strategic approach: “From the region, for the region,” has enabled Endress+Hauser to gain market share over the past two decades. Still, globalization has made it essential to strike a new balance between proximity to customers, the resilience of supply chains and the ability to innovate.
“We must meet the changing needs of our customers while maintaining our operational performance,” Altendorf says.
Globalization is one of many disrupters posing challenges to companies these days. Like its peers, Endress+Hauser has experienced fundamental changes in the process industry, particularly over the past two decades. Those changes are marked by an increasing level of digitalization and the push for automation to increase productivity. Meanwhile, the advent of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has added new domains such as mobile applications, cloud computing, Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Analytics as a Service (AaaS), digital twins, and augmented and virtual reality.
Altendorf says those changes can be a positive for the industry, provided they are met with the right course of action. He says it is inspiring to see how Endress+Hauser has developed as a company on a global scale while maintaining its focus on doing right by people and their futures.
“It is encouraging to know that we can contribute with our work to make the world a better place,” he says. “Through process and lab instrumentation and automation, we enable companies, communities and countries to enhance the lives of countless individuals.”
The company’s guiding principle has always been to remain open to the world and actively engage and learn from it. To continue doing so, Altendorf says they must maintain the freedom to move and operate unencumbered. This requires financial stability beyond the mere maximization of shareholder value. It requires a human-centric business approach.
“We believe that our customers, employees, shareholders and the communities we serve are all vital components of this approach. To this end, we have cultivated a culture that dispels fear and fosters stability, which becomes the fertile ground for creativity,” he says. “Such a culture empowers and enables people to give their best.”
The company’s direct link to its customers and ability to design a value stream to cater to customers’ needs is a unique proposition that Endress+Hauser prides itself upon. The goal is always to remain innovative, relevant and valuable to customers. The best way to maintain that success is to seek a “deeper understanding of their challenges,” according to Altendorf.
Endress+Hauser can look to the future with confidence and to the past with pride.
“The world needs process automation to improve in every aspect, and we are glad to be part of that journey,” Altendorf said.
From apprentice to CEO
Having served as CEO of Endress+Hauser since 2014, Matthias Altendorf is set to become the president of the Supervisory Board next year. At the same time, Peter Selders will take over the reins as CEO. It’s been a long journey for Altendorf, who started his career at 16 years old. He’s quick to point out that becoming CEO was the furthest thing from his mind at that time.
In those early days, his motivation was much simpler: It was to start a learning journey while earning an income that would provide him with some form of independence in life.
“I’ve always been a very responsible person, hungry to learn and grow, but also humble enough to realize that I’ve also been very lucky in my life,” he says.
Altendorf credits the good advice he received that helped him improve. He says the values Endress+Hauser holds are the same that helped him grow with the company.
“Our brand values of commitment, excellence, sustainability and friendliness aptly describe what you need to embody to be successful in our business,” he says. “When you combine these values with curiosity, openness and a willingness to continue learning, they carry you a long way.”
Today, he enjoys doing something for people, developing them in the social system that Endress+Hauser represents. In addition, he likes proving that the company’s entrepreneurial approach and his own leadership style are more sustainable and successful than pure shareholder value thinking.
The journey hasn’t always been easy, but he knows the most significant challenge he’ll ever face as a leader is himself.
“You have to overcome your own biases, personal limitations and the constraints of your own socialization while at the same time ensuring that you don’t become an obstacle to the development of the social system that you are entrusted to lead,” he says.
Still, he has made lasting memories over his three decades at the company. What stands out the most, he says, is how the company has navigated crises, coupled with seeing the joy in the faces of people in the company.
He took over an already well-run company and further developed it successfully, and he’s happy to be able to look back on a decade of excellent results. In that time, the company gained market share year after year and became a global leader in process instrumentation. He believes that success is because of customers’ trust in Endress+Hauser.
“It’s never a single action or decision by a CEO; it’s always the ‘we’ that matters, not the me,” he says. “My greatest achievement will be that we have found a good successor who will do an even better job than I did.”
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