Layher - A classic case of good business

We 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, paving the way for boom decades both economically speaking and in terms of innovation. Ever more complex structures, requirements and solutions, in construction terms, means ever more demand for steel, scaffold and revolutionary systems.

Skip to the modern day, and the proof is in the second galvanising plant that was built 10 years ago. A major milestone, the idea is, like much of the company’s history, a case of logic. The materials needed to produce Layher products must be galvanised, so why not have this done at the point of production, saving on shipping, slower delivery times and labour? As demand grows, why not contruct a new plant and third galvanising facility? “Now demand is so big we are working three shifts, more or less six and a half days in both galvanising plants,” explains Mr Layher. “And since last year the capacity is not enough any more, and this is why we have decided to build Plant III and a third galvanising

unit, which will be operational in 2019.” The reasons for this are self evident in many parts of the world. While the globe isn’t exactly balanced out, both on an international level and within individual nations, there is huge demand... where demand exists. Steel scaffolding is no exception to this universal rule. In fact, if anything it’s a prime example of a product that is on the up and up. A fundamental part of the construction process when designs for development grow ever larger. It’s not just the financial recovery spurring on increasing demand for Layher, though. Much as towers keep going up, centres continue to sprawl out and maintenance work is in need on an increasingly regular basis. And the current success of the company is as much a result of the company itself as the climate in which it operates. All market leaders are number one for a reason. We ask what the key differentiator is between Layher and its rivals and are told in no uncertain terms it’s about more than the physical product. While the firm’s systems have long been considered the most innovative available, what these systems represent is even more valuable to customers. Put simply, with Layher you invest in the ability to improve your own sales because of the solutions now available to your customers, thanks to Layher’s equipment and products. And, with the world in a far more stable position than it was 10 years ago, demand to be at that cutting edge has rarely been greater. “The economy has picked up in countries like Holland. They were in crisis,” says Mr Layher. “We do quite well in the UK, gaining market shares. Spain is also picking up. We are gaining new market shares in different places, and markets are recovering.” That this recovery comes stems from a crash which hit a decade ago this year is all the more telling of how devastating that crisis was. You might assume that now it’s back to business as usual in many countries the future would look more certain. This isn’t quite the case, though, and there may yet be more trouble ahead. Since the UK’s EU Referendum vote, the term Brexit has taken on a kind of court jester role within the European political system. Or, more accurately, a will-they, won’t-they get ready in time drama void of romance. The repercussions of a ‘bad exit’ – taking no sides – could be catastrophic for both the British Isles and the bloc’s remaining members. And this isn’t the only challenge Layher, and others in its sector, face. “The upcoming Brexit and the aftermath brings with it a degree of uncertainty which may or may not cause some projects to delay, no one can accurately foresee this and as we know, our industry does not like uncertainty,” says Sean Pike, Layher’s UK MD. “One always looks to the positives. These projects need to be started and completed one way or another. “The shortage of skilled labor and scaffolders is of course always a talking point and this most likely permeates into the wider construction sector. “A wider problem is attracting young people, from all backgrounds, male and female into our industry, and we all have a shared responsibility in ensuring this bigger issue is adequately dealt with.” An understandable concern, nevertheless optimism remains the defining outlook at both Layher’s German HQ and the UK office Pike is based in. The company’s reputation is only getting stronger, and in turn this makes the job of promoting and selling the name increasingly straight forward. A self-fulfilling prophecy in the best possible way. “From my part, the case to use and embrace system scaffolding in the UK gets easier, acceptance of what the Layher system solutions bring grows year on year, and we listen to what our clients say they need, the industry is of course weighted towards tube and fittings, but each year that changes,” Pike says. “It is, therefore, a matter of keeping on spreading the word, meeting main contractors and highlighting the considerable

benefits of system scaffolding solutions. To keep innovating, improving existing product ranges, create new solutions and markets and thereby always stay several steps ahead, refining our strategy to suit the changing opinion towards system solutions.” Realistically, then, it’s a case of growth as status quo, and the near-future looking likely to continue in the same vein as those recent years. It’s hardly a bad place for any firm to be in, even if some circumstances outside its control – Brexit, for example – are still hanging in the balance to some extent. “When I look at the growth and development of Layher in the UK over the past five years and since the London 2012 Olympics, which we were also very fortunate to have been heavily involved with, Layher has grown year-on-year,” says Pike. “We have a healthy and diverse customer base, who are all good at what they do and we grow strategically with them, and always in support of them. They get repeat work and so do we. We adopt a very personal service with our clients and work closely with them, always in support and never in competition with them – we manufacture and supply, they erect, alter, dismantle and support their clients. “This strategy has maintained our success and with our very recent organic expansion into the West Midlands, our proximity to our clients allows them too to also grow, with the confidence that we are by their side with materials readily available and local to them.” Every business story is unique, and yet so many share the same plot lines. In many ways the Layher narrative supports this notion. It’s a classic case of one company rising to the top of its industry based on 360-degree merit, the ability to think carefully about the future, and adapt its model and offering to suit the changing demands of customers. A yarn seemingly older than time, or at least as old as business, it’s the result of a model many other companies should familiarise themselves with, because it can be applied to every industry and sector. Deliver what people need... and more people will ask you to deliver. SM