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Dear Reader,

Recently I was asked what my first thought was when, on 12th August, we ended the short-time work period, which Corona had forced upon us and then exactly four days later a cyber attack temporarily transported us backwards into a digital stone age. I can’t possibly repeat what I said at the time, because it is definitely unprintable. We have come through both events – and I’d like to point this out right at the beginning – very well indeed.

In the time of the lockdown
When the first lockdown hit us with full force in March, we immediately introduced a clustering and hygiene concept, which has protected us well so far. Shortly after we were forced to put the administrative departments on short-time work, mainly due to the stalling demands of international markets. Despite the uncertain situation, we simultaneously decided to keep the production running at 100 %, in order to be able to deliver after this is over. This was guaranteed, not only by a highly motivated team, but also by our purchasing strategy, which ensured that there were no shortages or even breakdowns in the supply chain. 

At the same time, the colleagues in production & assembly were able to work on what had been neglected in recent years, due to double and triple workloads. Due to the continuous growth, the relocation to our new final assembly and logistics centre, the automation & digitalisation of our processes and the parallel regular production, non-essential tasks sometimes get left behind.

At last, we were able to catch up on these things and hopefully you, dear customers, are also able to appreciate this. At this point I would like to take the opportunity to address a rather critical topic: Occasionally I am being told that there are reasons to be no longer 100 % satisfied with TRACTO.

Growth means change
When a company grows, this inevitably leads to far-reaching changes. This already starts with the suppliers, who are pushed to their organisational limits, due to the higher quantities. The most profound though, are the changes for oneself: Many years of practiced methods have to be replaced by new processes and at the same time it is necessary to integrate numerous additional colleagues.  Of course, each company is responsible for this themselves and must ensure that none of this reaches the customer. We do not seem to have succeeded this task completely. The justified criticism hit me hard and therefore I immediately entered into a direct exchange of information with our customers and partners.

Visting us here in Lennestadt
What makes me feel very positive are the reactions of customers, partners and international sales representatives, who accepted our invitation to come to Saalhausen. Most of them had noticed very little of the efforts and changes we have made in recent years to transform ourselves from a large workshop business into an industrial enterprise with clean-cut and faultless processes.  Our visitors are able to experience on site that our efforts are not a self-purpose. You, our customers, primarily benefit from reliable machines and good service.

Advancement for the future of drilling 
Our constant challenge is to advance our products and services. With the so-called FIRST EDITION we have introduced the first series model of the spectacular JCS/ACS 130, equipped with trend-setting digital features. We want to make trenchless works more scalable for you and are approaching autonomous drilling in large steps.

The foundation of our progress has been laid by our recently deceased owner, Wolfgang Schmidt, and myself over the past ten years. We have made the company crisis-proof, which has been proven this year. 

In future I will continue to lead the company in Wolfgang’s spirit and ensure that TRACTO remains reliable partner for customers, distributors, suppliers and our employees in all aspects.

Your Tim Hofmeister