At the invitation of E/D/E, decision-makers from industry and trade in the tool sector met in Bad Neuenahr. Record participation of 350 participants
“Seeing once is better than speaking a hundred times.” One participant summed up the E/D/E Tool Forum, the fifth edition of which ended in Bad Neuenahr with a record attendance, in this short formula. More than 350 decision-makers from the industry attended the traditional communication and networking event. Exciting presentations by high-caliber speakers, including former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, and many opportunities for discussion – that is the recipe for success of the E/D/E Forums. “We enable our partners to address us personally at eye level. The high number of visitors shows the importance of this communication and therefore also of our Tool Forum,” said Dr. Christoph Grote, E/D/E Managing Director for Goods and Sales.
The opening in front of the baroque backdrop of the Kurhaus in Bad Neuenahr was almost reminiscent of a family reunion. People know each other in the tool industry. And so we got straight into the first talks without much of a warm-up phase. “How is the situation?”, “What’s new?”, “How will the year continue?” were the most frequently asked questions. “There are not so many opportunities to meet so many people from the industry in such a small space,” explained Thomas Dammann, Managing Director of the Central Association of the Hardware Trade (ZHH). At the request of members, the ZHH moved an Erfa group meeting to Bad Neuenahr in order to be able to participate in the Tool Forum.
In total, around 350 owners and managers of industrial and commercial companies attended the one-day event. This represents an increase of around 100 participants compared to the 4th Tool Forum in 2011. Whether it was the high-caliber speakers (“When do you ever have the opportunity to experience Joschka Fischer?”) or the opportunities for informal conversation that encouraged the visit? All participants answered this question as follows: “Both!”
Meeting for decision-makers
There was also a consensus that face-to-face conversations, regardless of more recent forms of communication, will never go out of fashion. The special feature of the Tool Forum is the informal, relaxed atmosphere. The focus is not on prices, quantities and conditions, but on more fundamental issues. “The Tool Forum is a meeting place where decision-makers can engage in informal discussions. That’s what gives it its character,” emphasizes Dr. Christoph Grote. He, as well as the Chairman of the E/D/E Management Board, Hans-Jürgen Adorf, and numerous business division and specialist area managers and sales employees from the Wuppertal group of companies, also used the forum to cultivate contacts.
Visitors also eagerly awaited the speeches, especially the presentation by Joschka Fischer. Fischer highlighted Germany’s role in Europe against the backdrop of the financial crisis. The Foreign Minister and Vice-Chancellor of the red-green government under Gerhard Schröder analyzed the opportunities and risks of Europe, which is “rich, old and weak” from the perspective of the emerging, so-called coming XXL powers.
Against the backdrop of Europe’s impending loss of importance in the global balance of power, Fischer vehemently called for the EU to turn into a political union. However, this is also associated with unpleasant truths. “The issue of secondary debt mutualization will come, because without it the euro will not be sustainable,” said the former foreign minister.
E/D/E business division manager Oliver Boensch (construction equipment, operating equipment, power tools, welding technology and imports), who moderated this part of the presentation, concluded by asking Fischer about the current situation in the party election campaign for the Bundestag elections, thus initiating an open discussion between Fischer and the auditorium.
Interesting times
The entrepreneurs went into the subsequent lunch break with many impressions and thoughts. In addition to Fischer’s rhetorical skill – admittedly no longer delivered with the furor of earlier days, but rather with the gesture of an elder statesman – some key statements stuck. In addition to the debt problem, which Fischer clearly identified as a pan-European problem, there was also this message: “Volatility is the new normal. We are living in interesting times,” said Fischer, and by interesting he meant turbulent.
Against the backdrop of global interdependencies, the question of what this means for medium-sized tool dealers in this country no longer really arises. Dr. Kai Trabandt, Managing Partner of Eisen Trabandt from Stade: “Things are still moving, the days of security are over.” What does that mean for him as an entrepreneur? “Rather act cautiously,” is the answer.
The production connection trade itself is currently having to deal with a similar reluctance on the part of the industry; accompanied by weak construction due to the weather and a still well utilized trade sector, this led to a first quarter that did not really inspire any of the dealers. Almost all guests were therefore in agreement when E/D/E Managing Director Dr. Grote spoke of a “modest start” to the financial year in his welcoming address. However, Grote also agreed with this statement: “Our assessment from many discussions with members and suppliers as well as the macroeconomic data make us confident that 2013 will be a successful year.”
Mood in the industry
Like E/D/E itself, the distributors are aiming for a turnover close to that of the (strong) previous year. Dr. Paul Kellerwessel from E/D/E new member Hülden AG also spoke of a “diffuse mood”. Alfred Blickle, Sales Manager Special Parts at GÜHRING, took the following impression back to Albstadt: “Positive, but cautious and without a tendency towards euphoria.”
After the lunch break and the introduction by E/D/E business division manager Frank Müller (Tools, Machines), the second speaker of the day, Professor Dr. Notker Wolf, was given undivided attention. The Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Order was able to captivate a large part of the audience with current political, social and economic issues. The well-traveled church manager took a firm stand and called for a return to values – a thesis for which he naturally earned sympathy from the guests present, many of whom were family entrepreneurs. After another break with an opportunity for communication, the alpine adventurer and author Hans Kammerlander reported on his climbing tours, which have taken him to the highest peaks on earth.
Fulminant conclusion
In the evening, the 5th Tool Forum came to a brilliant conclusion with good food, music from the band Clou Experience and entertainment from cabaret artist Christoph Brüske. When E/D/E business division managers Frank Müller and Oliver Boensch bid farewell to the guests and invited them to the next Tool Forum in 2015, there was a great response. The E/D/E Tool Forum has become an indispensable communication platform.
