Recognition with an Axia Award for the Fourth Time

“People and Culture” as Guiding Principles

“From the very beginning, our company has stood for values such as integrity and ethics, customer focus, quality and innovation, teamwork and sustainability,” says Dr Chirstoph Beumer, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of the BEUMER Group. The group of companies lives these and has also set them down in writing in guiding principles. “The way a company behaves towards its employees and customers shows the importance it attaches to its values and how consciously it deals with them,” Beumer describes.

The systems provider thus sees its employees as part of the BEUMER family – not as a resource. Employees should develop and not be consumed. That is why the company calls its HR department “People and Culture” (P&C). “The designation ‘People and Culture’ expresses the value principle by which we act according toour leadership culture in the family business,” says Beumer. “And it supports the BEUMER employer brand, because corporate culture attracts talent.”

Offering opportunities in uncertain times

The BEUMER Group offers exciting prospects and a varied working environment for its employees in the Münsterland mechanical engineering region. The system provider has been able to record large increases in recent years – and has gained a very good international reputation with forward-looking solutions for intralogistics in conveying and loading technology, palletising and packaging technology as well as sorting and distribution systems. At the moment, for example, the aim is to push ahead with digitalisation to the fullest extent. To this end, the BEUMER Group has launched two spin-offs in addition to the existing innovation department. Beam GmbH, a self-sufficient company builder, was established in Berlin. “We try to solve unique problems in logistics together with teams of founders,” says Dr Beumer. “We want to find founders with business ideas that are relevant to us. To do this, we found three start-ups per year and transfer them into their own company under the Beam umbrella.” The aim is to open up new business fields in logistics.

The German medium-sized businesses are characterised by a globally unique variety of sustainably grown family-owned businesses and hidden champions. Once again, the BEUMER Group stands out even more as a Best Managed Company due to its outstanding corporate management. And thus it takes on an exemplary role – a particularly important signal to the entire market in times of the pandemic,” adds Markus Seiz, Best Managed Company Programme Leader and Director at Deloitte Private. “With the Best Managed Company Award, we honour medium-sized companies in Germany that exemplify what is called the backbone of the economy. It is companies like the BEUMER Group that not only withstand the pressure in extraordinary times, but also find their top form under pressure. It is thanks to them that crises can also be a new beginning by recognising the increased urgency of new developments such as digitalisation and sustainability and implementing them in a way that benefits society,” explains Mischa Tschopp, Market Group Head Germany and Austria International at Credit Suisse.

Rethinking Business Models

At a special awards evening, Deloitte handed out prizes to six medium-sized enterprises that have excelled in sustainable business management. Companies were recognised for their achievements across the following categories: “Accelerating Strategy & Growth”, “Utilising Innovation & Technologies”, “Shaping People & Workplaces”, “Protecting Resources & Environment”, “Special Prize – Integration” and “Special Prize – Lifetime Achievement”.

New technologies bring about radical change and destroy entire industries. Businesses that stand the test of time set themselves clear goals to expand their capacity for innovation, to fully involve their employees and external cooperation partners in the innovation process and to follow the resultant innovation strategy to the letter. The award was presented at the Axia awards evening by Lutz Meyer, Partner and Head of Deloitte’s Programme for Medium-Sized Enterprises.

For BEUMER, the optimisation of internal processes is just as important as the development of new business models. That is why the company established the BEUMER Group Evolution in Dortmund and the BG Challenge in Berlin within the framework of the Digital Hub Logistics. These develop “minimum viable products” (MVPs), i. e. prototypes that are developed just enough for a market analysis or a business model, which are completely reimagined. BEUMER places great importance on intensive exchange between the Beckum, Berlin and Dortmund sites and emphasises that the company has to remain a joint entity, albeit one that creates new ideas.

Prototypes ready to shake up the market

For example, the training workshop already has a 3D printer with technology that BEUMER believes is capable of revolutionising the spare parts business. The hunt for ideas is deeply embedded at BEUMER: for example, there is a Pitch Day where all employees are invited to present their ideas. In addition, idea scouts continuously collect ideas from staff to improve or even reinvent products.

“The Axia Award winners stand out because they face significant challenges and do business not only well, but they do so responsibly and with consideration – an admirable entrepreneurial ethos. In this way, they are not only securing the economic future of Germany as a place of business, but are also making a contribution to solving societal challenges,” underlined Lutz Meyer.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Stable organic growth is the goal

Within the scope of the event “Wachstumsmotor Mittelstand – Wege zum Erfolg” (Growth Propeller Medium-Sized Business – Paths to Success), the prize was awarded to medium-sized businesses that, according to information from Deloitte, were able to strategically expand and strengthen their market position through constant development and Best Practices. The special importance of family businesses in this context was also highlighted by Garrelt Duin, Minister for Economic Affairs, Energy, Industry, and Commerce of North Rhine-Westphalia, in his welcoming speech. 144 companies had applied for this award.

“Precisely because of our declared goal to grow in a manner that is organisationally stable, we have strengthened ourselves consciously in our core sectors through corporate acquisitions”, explained Dr. Christoph Beumer, Chairman and CEO of BEUMER Group. “With these acquisitions, we can expand our expertise, supplement our portfolio and strengthen our global presence. Only on this foundation is continued, long-term growth possible in our markets”.

Targeted Takeovers

BEUMER Group impressed in particular due to its consistent and targeted takeover of companies. BEUMER has supplemented its organisational growth over the past four years by acquiring companies abroad. In considering candidates for acquisition, it is important to the intralogistics supplier that the acquired companies fit BEUMER Group, not just strategically, but also culturally. BEUMER developed the “Strategy 2013” so that the incorporation runs smoothly. This is considered to be the “Best Practice” for the professional development of a corporate mission statement. The core of this mission statement states: Our goal is not the short term profit, but the long term success. “We view the diverse cultures in our global group of companies as a chance to learn from each other and strive to create a work environment in which everyone respects each other’s individuality”, stresses Dr. Beumer. “On this basis, we succeed in quickly integrating our new colleagues in the company, who have joined BEUMER Group in recent years.” This is a crucial factor for the success of the international expansion strategy.

Dr. Tom A. Rüsen from the Wittener Institute for Family Business presented the study “Wachstumsmotor Mittelstand – Wege zum Erfolg” (Growth Propeller Medium-Sized Business – Paths to Success). “The winners have succeeded extraordinarily in expanding their market position thanks to an ongoing development of their success factors. They achieve excellent accomplishments in M&A, internationalisation or branding.” In particular, family businesses impress with their classic strengths: high product quality and close contact with the customer.

“We think it’s fundamentally wrong to view employees as a cost factor”,

explains Dr. Christoph Beumer, Chairman and CEO for BEUMER Group. “We can only achieve a high level of customer satisfaction and a sustainable, successful market presence when the whole team is involved in the corporate strategy in the long term. This is what we have been living since the company was founded more than 75 years ago, and it holds true for the future.”

Deloitte considers BEUMER’s “Strategy 2013” to be the “Best Practice” for the professional development of a corporate mission statement. Its key message is that the company’s goal is not the short term profit, but the long term success. “That only works with excellently trained and motivated employees”, says Dr. Beumer. Another key aspect of this corporate strategy is the commitment to the highest ethical standards toward customers, business partners, employees and society. “We view the diverse cultures in our global group of companies as a chance to learn from each other and strive to create a work environment in which everyone respects each other’s individuality”, stresses Dr. Beumer. “On this basis, we succeed in quickly integrating our new colleauges in the company, who have joined BEUMER Group in recent years.”

In the past years, BEUMER Group has grown both organically and through acquisitions. In mid-2009, BEUMER acquired, among others, the Danish company Crisplant AS. With this addition, the group counts among the international leaders in high-capacity sortation technology for airports, courier, express and parcel services. In Autumn 2011, with the takeover of the Indian company Enexco Teknologies, BEUMER strengthened its presence in the cement industry in one of the most important future markets.