materialfluss: Mr. Buschmann, how did you get from SSI Schaefer to AR Racking?
Jörg Buschmann: I worked at SSI Schaefer for almost 14 years and actually wanted to retire because I didn't want to pedal so much anymore at the age of 61. At the same time, I was approached by a headhunter who was looking for someone to introduce a new supplier for Germany. After a few conversations, I realized that this task would be very appealing at the end of my professional life: to establish a supplier in a very competitive market.

mfl: So retirement will have to wait...
Buschmann: That's right. I was missing a bit of something and I'm still too young to only ride motorcycles (laughs).

mfl: How are you positioned in Duisburg?
Buschmann: We don't have a branch in Germany, but an office. Our technical manager Claudia Avenhues is there, who, together with another colleague, supports sales and handles projects in the conventional storage sector. There are also four sales employees: Laura Garrido, Roseta Fischer, Bart Pulles and myself.

mfl: How far have you already come in Germany?
Buschmann: The aim is to further increase awareness of AR Racking. We are already doing extremely well with dealers. That is the reason to take the next step, namely to be able to bid on larger projects. It's a complement, not a competition to our dealers. We are currently in the process of implementing the first project in Germany. I'm not allowed to mention the name of the customer, it's a large e-commerce company.

mfl: How did you perceive AR Racking when the company was still a competitor?
Buschmann: As a very good racking manufacturer with a very good product. I was always surprised that AR Racking was so reticent about the German market. I have been expecting what is happening now for a long time. AR Racking's production facility is also the most modern in Europe that I know of. The processes and the machines there are outstanding. This also explains the short delivery times of three to six weeks, which no other competitor currently achieves.

mfl: What arguments are you using to assert yourself on the German market?
Buschmann: Not only with the delivery times. We have another unique selling point on the German market: the traceability of our products. Each of our products, whether frame or crossbar, is uniquely marked with a number that is applied in the factory. This will also become important on the German market and is something that other market players are currently unable to offer.

mfl: What goals do you have until the end of the year?
Buschmann: Our goals are medium-term. We are growing with the projects that we can generate here and not putting 30 employees on one office floor and disappearing again after two years. We want to have significantly increased our level of awareness by the end of the year so that we are noticed and, if possible, already have one or two projects. But that could also be an issue for 2020, you have to be realistic. My job is to open doors, use contacts and ensure that we are listed with the major logistics companies. It can't be my goal to drop by for a coffee but not bring my shelves with me (laughs).

Martin Schrüfer spoke with Jörg Buschmann.

About Jörg Buschmann
Jörg Buschmann (61) can look back onan extensive career in intralogistics: from 1990 to 2005, the electrical engineering graduate worked at Swisslog in Ludwigsburg, Dortmund and Buchs (Switzerland) in various management positions and most recently as Manager Project and Risk Management. In August 2005, he moved to SSI Schäfer, where he was most recently Head of Sales Projects - until he moved to AR Racking.