WORLDWIDE


COMPANY SPOTLIGHT: MKN


the new situation. Don’t speak about yesterday, let’s speak about tomorrow and today’. We budgeted everything, then we changed and adapted very fast. We accepted no compromise.”


Georg Weber, CEO of MKN


brand and the customers appreciate that they have a reliable partner, backed up by a stable structure. We don’t change policy every year. Sometimes continuity


“Every day, our guys from purchasing, engineering and logistics have to solve problems we’ve never had before. Yet, we can keep delivering for our customers – that makes me so happy”


doesn’t sound so sexy, but it’s one of the biggest reasons for success. We believe in partnerships. Because of that, people feel they can trust you and are loyal to you.” That loyalty has ensured that, despite the challenges thrown up by the pandemic in recent years, MKN has continued to maintain double digit growth against the odds. “We are very satisfi ed – the business is doing well,” says Weber. “Supply chains and price increases for stainless steel and components remain a challenge for everyone, but we are fortunate that we can deliver because of our long-term supply chain thinking. That’s always been our philosophy. Many months ago, we spent a lot of money investing in critical components. You can only do that if you have a strong fi nancial background. But it’s still a challenge. Every day, our


guys from purchasing, engineering and logistics have to solve problems we’ve never had before. Yet, we can keep delivering for our customers – that makes me so happy.” For MKN, as for every other business, 2020 and 2021 represented a signifi cant challenge. “We were shaken, like we had some bad turbulence on a bumpy fl ight, but we landed the plane safely,” says Weber. One of the reasons for that smooth landing was that he and his team “accepted the new situation” fast, he explains. “We understood it. And then we adapted quickly into a totally new situation That was the key. It took me two weekends to do that. Then, I got it. I spoke to the VPs and said: ‘This is


MKN’s complete range of professional cooking equipment can suit individual needs – all under one roof


Getting future fit For Weber and his team, the primary goal was to protect employees from the pandemic, but one of the by-products of rationalizing the business was that it actually increased effi ciencies across the board. “In the past, I’ve always said to the team, ‘think big.’ But from that moment I said, ‘be effi cient’. Somehow, it’s like the company went to the gym. We have optimized it.” For MKN, adopting an effi ciency


mindset meant embracing interactive seminars and digital meetings with employees and customers in order to keep them engaged. The company even ended up hiring extra people. “We have had the confi rmation that our strategy was absolutely right, because we are very busy at the moment, and growing worldwide. Protecting the team is a really big challenge, but now we have grown to 600 employees worldwide,” says Weber. One of the key learnings for Weber during the pandemic was to be very selective when greenlighting new products and concepts. “But if we 100%


51


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132