When we last spoke to Henning Weisz, the CEO of Global Tarps (Group MPASIA), it was following a 12 month growth period that had also seen the company maintain its reputation for quality and service. We caught up with Henning once again to find out how the business has been performing recently.
PES: Welcome back, Henning. For the benefit of new readers would you like to introduce the company and its role within the wind sector?
Henning Weisz: We’re the leading manufacturer of tarpaulin products to the global wind turbine industry, and we supply more or less all the main global players. To facilitate this, we’ve opened our second production facility in China, which is the biggest factory in the world for producing various tarpaulin products for the wind industry. These products include tarpaulins for towers, hubs, blades and nacelles.
We control the entire supply chain from development of products to the final delivery anywhere in the world, and it follows that we have customers in every corner of the planet. To this end, we tailor our service according to the needs of our customers and produce the products according to global standards.
PES: And how has business been since we last spoke?
HW: I’m pleased to say that business has been very positive over the last few months and we are growing according to our plans, as well as strengthening our market position. It’s an exciting time for us.
PES: We note that you have substantial expertise in designing and producing all kinds of tarpaulin products especially for the global wind industry. Can you elaborate on this?
HW: We have more than 20 years of experience in designing, developing and producing functional and cost optimised tarpaulins for the wind turbine industry, and over this time we have adapted our products to meet the demands of the industry. To achieve this, we are in constant communication with our customers and endeavour to find out what their particular challenges and requirements are.
Therefore we meet with the relevant departments. We go out to the site to talk with the people using the tarpaulins daily, to understand how the tarpaulin is being used while in storage, on the track and on the vessel. Furthermore, we often visit the harbour while the tower is being uploaded on the vessel to see how it reacts and adapts to the situation.
We develop products that are suitable for storage, or for transportation by rail, truck and sea, etc. and MPASIA has core knowledge in supplying products being used for offshore projects as these are much higher than the ones for onshore projects. The offshore conditions are particularly challenging because the tarpaulins have to be able to handle much stronger winds and water forces.
PES: You were hoping that 2014 – and in particular, 2015 – would be positive for you. Does your order book reflect this?
HW: Yes. 2014 has been rather positive for us and we have signed several new customer contracts. We hope the global wind market will keep on developing in a positive direction.
PES: Have you added any major new clients from the wind sector recently? What can you tell us about the projects you’re involved with?
HW: Certainly we have added new global business partners to our client base. And I’m happy to say that these new business partners are very pleased with our products, services and global supply chain. We place a great deal of emphasis on these three parts of our business and it’s good to see that it is being recognised and appreciated.
PES: What’s the biggest challenge the company is facing right now?
HW: Competition is always a challenge. And it becomes particularly testing if you are up against companies that offer a different quality level to what you are offering – it’s like comparing apples to pears. We set the standards in our sector. All our tarpaulins are sold under our registered trademark ‘Global tarps by MPASIA’.
PES: Can you tell us a little about your tarpaulins and explain how they are particularly suited to the specific challenges of the offshore industry?
HW: Well, we have been delivering tarpaulins to the wind offshore industry ever since it started, and together with the main players in the market, we have developed tailor-made tarpaulins that can withstand all kinds of weather conditions. Every new customer has their own specific requirements and we’re able to meet them all. As I mentioned before, our test centre means we are able to do a lot of work on making the products very safe and easy to use.
PES: Do environmental conditions – temperature, moisture, etc. – impact upon the effectiveness of your products?
HW: I understand your concerns, but the short answer is no – our products can withstand all relevant weather conditions. If required by the customer, they also pass both REACH and ROHS tests.
PES: Last time you mentioned that you’d just opened your second production facility in China. How has this performed for you?
HW: Perfectly – we are very pleased with the facility and our business partners are impressed and very pleased with the products being produced there.
Actually, we will already start expanding the facility in the coming months. The new building will have production floor set over two floors that will allow us to optimise our production flow. As I think I said to you before, we are constantly working to reduce costs and to optimise our production flow. For us, improvement is a constant, evolving process.
PES: The company seems to have a strong set of values; can you tell us a little about your commitment to the customer and the quality of your work?
HW: Actually we don’t talk about customers in our organisation – for us, a customer is an equal partner with whom we work for a mutual goal. The partner’s product has to be as good and cheap as possible, and we like to participate with our efforts to make their business as successful as possible. For us, that is true partnership.
We are known as a supplier that delivers on time and with no errors. In fact, we have customers informing us that our product, service and lead times are state of the art. Naturally, this is something we are very proud of.
PES: Wind turbines are getting bigger every year – does this have an impact on your operation?
HW: No not really – but it does mean that the tower diameters are getting bigger and the blades are getting longer and that the quality and usability of our products have to be higher and better. In our test centre we are constantly testing and looking for new and better ways to manufacture and design the best, and most optimal, product for each partner.
