Three quick questions with Geert Maurissen, Group Managing Director at SafeLine.
1. Why did SafeLine join NeXt Group?
– The industry of today is challenged by technology developing faster each year, all while having to find good resources to match this evolution. If you want to survive, the only solution going forward is by having joint efforts between companies. For big international companies with a big budget and numerous suppliers of resources, it’s easier to tackle these challenges than for a small company. For them, this is the only way to stay relevant and competitive with big companies that have an advantage because of size and market position.
2. What did you expect when joining?
– To share technology and be in close cooperation when developing products and standards to keep us in the game. This can only be done by sharing resources and knowledge that we all have built up over the years in the lift industry. Avoiding that each company tries to reinvent the wheel on their own – something fatal in this day and age driven by technology.
3. What do you hope to get out of the cooperation?
– We already see a lot of beautiful projects being commercialised by some of the members. Sharing this experience will bring us forward and become a solution for our mutual customers who’s looking for alternative products, not being dependent on a sole supplier. By sharing set standards in the NeXt Group, we can offer a whole stack of products from different manufacturers – benefitting the customer. I think that’s the goal for all producers. To offer products that customers request and give them multiple options, while they are supported by an organisation that promotes open standards.
