We are pleased if we can render our customers speechless. We want to think laterally, to be outside of the box, to surprise and astound – this is what we see as success and the part we enjoy most. It is why we outsourced the machine construction, even though we sell entire systems, and are therefore the manufacturer in the sense of the machinery directive for our customers. We have the overall responsibility. We nevertheless decided to concentrate on engineering and commissioning. The construction of the systems is handled by our partner Kostwein from Carinthia. They execute all our machines in cooperation with us. That’s unusual – why did you opt for this approach? The solutions we develop and sell are special-purpose machines from the field of “half-robotics”. They are manipulators – a term from the field of lifting appliances and crane technology. It focuses on ‘manipulation’, i.e. the movement of a wide range of loads. “Half-robotics”, the preliminary stage to the classic robot, has developed into an interesting niche of its own. This is our profession. It requires a lot of creative potential because it is continuously about individual tasks. This is what we want to focus on – this is what we make time for. The final machine assembly is in best hands at Kostwein – that’s their speciality. This teamwork has paid off for us on all sides. One topic is currently occupying the entire mechanical engineering segment – delivery shortfalls on the supplier side. Are you also affected? There are probably only a few mechanical engineering companies out there that are not affected. Especially electrical components are in some cases unobtainable. And to a certain extent, it cannot even be said when they will be made available again. This applies to major, renowned suppliers as well as to small ones. A wealth of ideas and creativity, however, can help you out even here. There are countless solutions for every technical task at hand, and a lot of them can be realised in a different fashion. We already take this into consideration during construction. First, we have a look at the components that are available and then we work with them. Does this mean that one has to reinvent “the wheel” every single time? Luckily, this is not the case. Electronic components are the ones primarily affected. You are, however, addressing an important issue: mechanics, the origin of mechanical engineering. Those wishing to ensure “movement” – manipulators is the catchword we are looking for here – must not lose track of this fact. Continuously more IT in machines frequently pushesmechanical know-how into the background. At first glance, this is understandable because software can be adapted via the click of a mouse. Furthermore, one receives a lot of data from every manufacturing section via direct access – a plus for the management. This is the benefit of digitalisation, which creates flexibility. But this is precisely what is turning mechanical engineers more and more into programmers. And it can have a detrimental effect on the core competency. Of course, we rely on digitalisation. That is a ‘must’ today. We know, however, what our core competency, our USP, and our secret to success is: creative engineering. The absolutely perfect solution is our declared goal – this is what drives us. And in this regard we have made the experience that the first idea is in most cases far from the best one – applying lateral thinking to mechanical engineering pays off every time! For more information, visit: www.roxa.at THE CEO INTERVIEW
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