In an exclusive interview with Apratim Ghoshal, editor-in-chief, Wood & Panel, Andy Turner, President and CEO, Bürkle North America talks about their latest innovations in the field of coating, laminating, and pressing technology at IWF Atlanta.
How do you feel IWF 2024 first day?
Andy Turner: We are incredibly encouraged and we are excited to be here. We are in big hall, where all the big machineries are on display. There are a lot of customers who are coming in and I think everybody is excited to see what’s going on! Also, they are here to learn more about technology and we are happy yo be a part of it.
What you are offering here at the IWF for the customers?
Andy Turner: We are primarily focusing on some more of our standard products so we have the ROBUSeco at one end of the floor and then we have got a roller coater at the other end of our booth.
Can you tell me more about your strategy to grow in North American market?
Andy Turner: If you know me, you know that I am a firm believer that we have to have a foundation of strong service in any part of anything that we are doing. So, our strategy is to grow sales but also to grow the service in North America and we are going to do that by a really strong effort in working with closely with distribution so we are going to work on the market. This is a very social industry and our customers want to see people and so we are going work to multiply our efforts to get infront of more of the market across North America through distribution and we want to do that not only in the sales but also in the service side. So, we are going to work to establish a nice network of service and the people across North America as well.
What about the sustainability?
Andy Turner: Well, we are in the woodworking industry. So, I think this is the only truly sustainable industry there is because the product that we are working with we can regrow. And if we manage the forest properly which I think we are doing a much better job of these days there’s no reason why we can’t have trees forever so that’s a big thing. In my opinion, we are the most sustainable industry.
We all know that after sales service is very important. In North American market, how do you cater the demand of the customer service?
Andy Turner: Well, when it comes to the customer service, we are trying to establish in BÜRKLE is that we not only sell our machines but we want to give our customers the best possible experience and I think that the better way we can give them the best possible experience is to improve that service. We want to be available, we want to be close by, so, we want to be able to get to people very quickly and make sure that our customer can get any service quickly. Also, we want to make sure the service is given properly. BÜRKLE is definitely doing things a little bit differently because we are not only a global company but we network together so tightly that you would see if you were here at our booth, we have a lot of our partners from across the world have come. Because we work closely with Asia, we work closely with Europe and obviously we are here in North America and that helps us to give the best possible experience and really in any hour of the day.
