Nexteer held an electric power steering technology day this week at its Polish plant of Tychy near Krakow. Simon Warburton caught up with Nexteer VP of global sales and marketing and European region, Laurent Bresson, in the second interview he gave to just-auto, with his thoughts on the Japanese earthquake and difficulties at Saab.
j-a: To what extent was Nexteer affected by the Japanese earthquake and what lessons can be learned?
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LB: It is critical to be diversified in terms of customer and supplier base, to have alternatives in case of this kind of event. I am amazed how the Japanese have actually been able to cope with the situation.
We have a team working 24/7 go get the situation back to normal. With regards to Nexteer, we have not been heavily impacted due to minimum exposure to Japanese Tier 2s. We have had some impact with electronic components like any other company, but we have been able to work with some alternatives. We have had no customer impact. Diversification is more focused with Nexteer than it has been in the past.
j-a: Saab’s enormous difficulties have been well documented – are you a supplier to them and how have you reacted to their supplier problems?
LB: We are a supplier of Saab – we are looking forward to Saab restarting operations so we can continue to support them.
Certainly we strongly hope they will restart as we have some inventory unused right now. Automotive is so competitive that any impact is important – it is several hundred thousand dollars – that is unpaid bills. Saab offered 10% to start and then cash in advance.
We have taken the decision to help Saab restart their operations for all of the suppliers including Nexteer.
j-a: How would you describe Nexteer’s work environment and what sort of industrial relations do you enjoy?
LB: I would say Nexteer is very interesting because of the team spirit, that is something unique. What is unique is the access to the leadership including our CEO. There are passionate people dedicated to growing the business.
Due to these five years of very hard times, it has created maybe even more of a family spirit. We have to come with very creative ideas in order to keep the same network of customers. You control your destiny for the bad and the good.
j-a: Now you have been bought by a Chinese company, have you seen any influence from the national government at all and how culturally do you fit in with the new owners?
LB: We don’t see any Chinese state involvement. Relationship – guanxi – is key. Network and relationship is very, very important in China [as is] being more sensitive to a different culture.
