Page 24 - Miele D The Magazine 2018

INTERVIEW
Mr Bartsch: Miele has invested more than a quarter of a billion Euros, that is
20 percent more than in the previous record year. So, what is the strategy behind all this?
That needs to be differenti- ated: a large proportion of
the total sum went, as ever, into the development of new appliances and in re tting, modernising and expanding our international production network. In this year that is around two thirds of the total amount. An additional strate- gic focus is digitalisation in
its many different forms in almost every area of the business. Of course we are also continuing to invest in modern of ce workplaces and in the worldwide network
of our agship stores that
we call Miele Experience Centres.
But exactly where does the upward curve come from?
It is in conjunction with the development of new appli- ance ranges and the associated conversions of relevant production facilities. There
are obvious uctuations here that depend on the model cycles. For example, the new Generation G 7000 dishwash- ers are currently having a signi cant nancial impact, with considerably more than 100 million Euros for develop- ment and series start, although
Olaf Bartsch explains the Miele investments.
this is distributed across several business years.
What has made the dish- washer so expensive then? Practically everything is new on these appliances, there
has hardly ever been so much innovation on just one appli- ance. Therefore the invest- ments in our production fa- cilities at our Bielefeld factory were correspondingly high.
Keyword digitalisation: what can be envisaged from
this with a classic industrial business like Miele?
There are essentially three central spheres of activ-
ity here. Firstly: the business model, products and services associated with the subject
of Smart Home. In the past year we have established a separate business unit for this, where we work on new ser- vices for our customers based on networked appliances. Secondly: expansion of online marketing, including the consolidation of social media and the IT systems that are required for this. And thirdly: the intelligent networking and automation of the pro- duction processes, keyword Industry 4.0.
In the past business year Miele has newly invested in, or increased existing shares in an array of businesses.
Is this in connection with digitalisation?
To a great extent. For ex- ample we have signi cantly increased our stake in the Korean Yujin Robot company which manufactures Scout robot vacuum cleaners for Miele. It is our aim to expand our co-operation into further elds of robotics. The rst investments of the Miele Venture Capital GmbH, that we established in 2017, also have a strong link to digitali- sation. This allows Miele to invest in promising start-ups
for new digital services or greater creativity, convenience and lifestyle in the networked kitchen.
You hold a majority share
in MChef ...
...yes, and at the beginning
of September this young company from our neighbour- ing town of Bielefeld started
a worldwide unique Gourmet delivery service for preparing exclusive meals in the Dialog oven, a revolutionary new cooking appliance that had its market debut in June. We are also majority shareholders in our Italian medical technology subsidiary Steelco, with which we can now offer medical practices, clinics and labora- tories an even more capable portfolio of machines and services.
Part of the investment is apparently also going into the new washing machine factory in the Polish town
of Ksawerów near Lodz ... ...that is correct, essentially for the purchase and develop- ment of the plot of land. The foundation stone was laid
at the beginning of July this year, with a projected start date end of 2019/beginning of 2020. This project will make a substantial contribution to se- curing and further expanding our market position in the par- ticularly competitively-priced sector of entry appliances.
“New products and digital transformation”
In the previous business year Miele reported all-time highs not only with respect to turnover and staff levels, but also with investments. Olaf Bartsch, Executive Director Finances and Administration for the Miele Group, provides the details.
24 // Miele The Magazine