[CemExec] Jouni Salo, KHD Wedag CEO: Company in transition looks ahead (Part 1 of 2)

 

CW: With cement technology being fairly mature and Chinese low-cost options growing, how will you sustain market share, particularly in emerging markets, going forward?

JS: This is a very good question and certainly one that we are constantly asking ourselves. We recently held an internal seminar to discuss this issue and the central theme of this question is how can KHD become even more competitive.

There are many aspects to being competitive, but our conclusion was that the definition of being competitive was meeting, and exceeding, the needs of our customers. "Low-cost options," as you call them, are certainly growing, but in a market like India we can compete because we have a local presence and can increasingly utilize local manufacturing options.

We see the local presence and the understanding of customer requirements as key to this. And we believe that research and development will give us a competitive edge, and we are continuing to invest in this area.

 

 

The second part of the interview can be found here.