Regionalization
Brand Experience Centers bring us closer to our customers
We are investing in regional Brand Experience Centers in order to offer our customers around the globe even better advice and service on their doorstep. The first center for the Americas region opened in October 2021. The planning of the Global Brand Experience Center at our headquarters in Switzerland was kicked off in December 2021. In Asia, three new centers are under construction.
Planned Global Brand Experience Center in Niederönz
We are strengthening our presence in Switzerland and building a Global Brand Experience Center in Niederönz. The Board of Directors approved the project in October 2021, and the kick-off meeting was held in December. The center is scheduled to open its doors in spring 2024.
In 2022, the focus will be on the planning of the project and the submission of the building application. The groundbreaking is scheduled for late fall of 2022. We estimate that the construction phase will take up to 20 months, and we aim to have the center up and running in the spring of 2024. The Global Brand Experience Center will be our sixth building in Niederönz alongside the production hall (Hall 1), the test and assembly halls (Hall 2 and 3), and the two office buildings.
The almost 4,800 m2 Global Brand Experience Center will allow us to show customers, visitors, and guests not only our brand world and the entire product and service portfolio, but also our vision of the smart factory. In addition, the new center will be home to an applications and training center, a multipurpose shared zone, and a restaurant.
Opening of the Americas headquarters
With our new headquarters for the Americas region in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, we are strengthening our presence in North and South America. At the grand opening in October 2021, we welcomed more than 300 guests from the Americas region – among other things with traditional Swiss alphorn music.
The new 15,000 m2 premises feature a state-of-the-art production facility and a Brand Experience Center. Here, we showcase the latest Bystronic products, services, and our vision of the smart factory.
The new production center in Hoffman Estates enables us to assemble machines in the United States. Eliminating the need to import from Europe reduces delivery and shipping costs, and brings us even closer to our customers in the US.
New Brand Experience Centers in Asia
The opening of the center for the APAC region in Seoul, South Korea, is scheduled for the summer of 2022. In the China region, there are two Brand Experience Centers – one in Shanghai for Bystronic and one in Shenzhen for DNE, our new brand with which we serve the entry-level segment.
New subsidiary in Thailand
In March 2021, we opened a new country subsidiary in Thailand, thus positioning ourselves even closer to our customers in one of Southeast Asia’s largest markets.
Alongside Vietnam, Thailand is the largest market in Southeast Asia. Bystronic has been active here with a local representative for around ten years. In 2021 the time was ripe for the foundation of a new country subsidiary: With Bystronic Thailand Co. Ltd. we are now in a position to offer our customers in Thailand even more direct support and to venture into segments that we were previously unable to address.
With the new location in Bangkok, we now have an additional sales and service center in this important region. In addition to sales, service, spare parts management, consulting, and hotline services, the site also offers software and hardware training. Customers thus benefit from comprehensive expertise right on their doorstep.
The new offices were inaugurated in March with a traditional Buddhist ceremony, where monks blessed the team and the new premises.
Demonstrating our expertise
At the Competence Days, we show our customers what we are capable of. In 2021, we presented our latest innovations in Switzerland and China. The Digital Competence Days complemented the on-site events and offered the opportunity for a virtual exchange of information and ideas.
European Competence Days
We have been presenting our innovations at the Competence Days since 2007, showcasing our solutions in operation, and strengthening customer relationships during face-to-face dialog. Over the years, our in-house exhibition has continually grown. In September 2021 – in spite of the challenges in connection with the pandemic – we were able to welcome some 800 customers and account managers from 20 European countries to our headquarters in Niederönz.
In order to address all target groups and comprehensively reflect our portfolio, we divided the two-week event into three sections: manual production, automated production, and the smart factory. In this way, we showed our customers our entire spectrum – from stand-alone machines and automation solutions to end-to-end networked manufacturing.
In our Experience Center we unveiled two brand-new machines: the ByTube Star 130 tube and profile cutting machine and the ByBend Star 120 press brake. With regard to automation solutions, our Cutting Cell – consisting of a ByStar Fiber, a ByTrans Modular, a BySort, and a ByTower – attracted a great deal of attention. In addition to machine demos and software presentations, we also offered our customers a glimpse into the future: Our smart factory system in Oberbipp allows the digitally networked sheet metal processing of tomorrow to be experienced first-hand.
Competence Days China
Bystronic China held its three-day Competence Days under the motto “smart factory” at the end of July 2021. We welcomed some 300 guests to our production location in Tianjin. Here, we primarily create solutions for the Chinese market in the silver and entry-level segments. One of the highlights was the unveiling of the new BySprint Fiber 6225 with 10 kilowatts.
