FEATURE
Layher – A classic case of good business
W
e see our role not only as a manufacturer that supplies material when they are asked to, but we are there to assist our customers in many other respects,” says Georg Layher, managing shareholder of Wilhelm Layher GmbH & Co kg. Even if you weren’t concerned with the ins and outs of the world’s largest scaffold manufacturer, it’s difficult not to feel inspired by the man at the top. After all, Mr Layher clearly understands the first rule of business is viewing every client as a partner. “We also offer technical support, training and financial in some cases,” he continues. “And we work very hard to develop new components and auxiliary systems and provide solutions that nobody else can. And that gives our customers a competitive edge over users of other systems or other materials.” Proof, if it were needed, that to get to the top you need to deliver exceptional product and bespoke service.The company now employs more than 1,700
people in 40 countries from the USA to Poland, and its name is used on sites across the globe.These include the current restoration work being carried out on London’s Elizabeth Tower, aka Big Ben, with the work proving the firm continues to provide solutions to complex projects (see the next feature, Ed). Buildings and monuments, especially one of the planet’s most iconic, never formed part of the original plan, though. As with most good business stories, this one is catalysed by circumstance and needs, rather than concrete plans laid at the outset. Founded in Germany in 1945 by Wilhelm Layher, it first specialised in the production of wooden agricultural implements. In many ways the polar opposite of what it does today – typical images of metal scaffold usually involve urban and industrialised landscapes – the transition nevertheless makes sense. The company grew and developed to match changing times, with Europe’s post-war need to rebuild,
30 | Summer 2018
ScaffMag.com
