The KURIER spoke to entrepreneurs about difficult times and how they coped well with them.
Above, from left to right: Markus Kreisel, Johann Kreisel and Philipp Kreisel
“Even more power”
Kreisel Electric have become more efficient this year
KURIER: Kreisel Electric entered into a sales partnership with Shell this year. Kreisel has also developed a high-performance battery for electric vehicles that charges faster, lasts longer and is more efficient. Not a bad result for a year of crisis, right?
Johann Kreisel: Definitely! The year 2020 was very challenging and special at the same time.
How did the pandemic affect you?
In the past few years we have always had growth of 30 to 50 percent. We expected it at the beginning of this year, but already realized in March that it will probably not work out. Suddenly many suppliers were locked down and production came to a standstill.
Do you wait in such a situation or do you quickly develop another strategy?
We simply gave even more power and worked hard on projects. That paid off and we were able to land a major development contract for a company in April. In this way, we were not only able to improve our product, but also keep sales from the previous year at 20 million euros.
What was the biggest challenge this year?
The switch to home office. How we deal with it technically and also in communication with the employees themselves. That was exhausting, but in the end we were able to gain an enormous amount of trust in the employees and we have become more efficient.
The electromobility industry is booming. So is it just luck that Kreisel had a successful year?
Kreisel is a global technology leader. But the industry alone doesn't make it anymore, you have to be at the top these days and have worked hard for years to get to where we are.
CEO and CFO Peter Llewellyn-Davies on the team developing a COVID-19 drug
“The employees have shown extremely high commitment”
The biotech company Apeiron developed a COVID-19 drug in a very short time
For the biotech company Apeiron, 2020 will be a “very successful and exciting” year, according to CEO and CFO Peter Llewellyn-Davies. The company, which has specialized in immunotherapies against cancer and respiratory diseases since it was founded in 2003, is making great strides in the fight against corona this year.
“At the beginning of the year we were in the process of further developing our cancer research projects. After the outbreak of the pandemic, we saw an opportunity to bring a COVID-19 drug to the market quickly,” says Llewellyn-Davies. The basic research was already given to them with years of research on the SARS virus. “The challenge was to initiate a clinical study in the shortest possible time, which of course required a lot of capacities, such as financial resources and additional employees,” said the CEO.
The funding came, as did new employees
“We received a funding commitment from aws (Austria Wirtschaftsservice) of two million euros. In addition, a funding commitment from the Federal Ministry, the FFG (Austrian Research Promotion Agency) and the Vienna Business Agency totaling 3.6 million euros. That was not enough for the study. But we were able to attract additional private investors as well as the Wiener Städtische and British foundations and thus generate 13 million in the form of a capital increase. “
The study is currently nearing completion.
“Because of the shortage of time, that was a show of strength and the employees showed extremely high commitment.” The patients will be treated until the end of the year. Then the data is analyzed. “If the data is successful, we expect the drug to be approved in the second quarter.”
The biotech industry is a booming industry in Austria. For this reason, a new biotech association is being founded in order to improve the framework conditions. For Peter Llewellyn-Davies, 2020 was a very formative year with ups and downs. An additional nice job takes place privately with him. “My family and I got a puppy this year, it's a completely different kind of challenge,” he laughs.
Stefan Vollbach, managing director of Simplon
“We got out of the crisis like a dream”
The bicycle manufacturer Simplon has learned a lot from the corona crisis and yet expected more
KURIER: The bicycle industry is booming. Many people switched to bicycles during Corona for safety reasons. So you should have had a successful year.
Stefan Vollbach : Yes, one might think. The industry is doing very well due to the high order situation. But the industry cannot deliver the individual parts. Our bicycles are premium bicycles, which are put together and manufactured according to the wishes of the customer. For example, we are currently waiting for gear levers to be able to finish building hundreds of bicycles. And that stops everything. Usually customers wait 10-20 days for their bike. Now, if you order today, you might not get your bike until March or April.
The Simplon financial year always runs until the end of September. How was 2020 compared to the previous year?
In 2019 we had an annual turnover of 34 million euros, this year it's 44. In total, we sold 2000 more bikes than in the previous year. We got out of the crisis like a dream in contrast to other industries. Still, we expected more and in a normal year we would have been better off. But I am aware that this is complaining at a high level.
Did you have to send employees on short-time work?
We thought about it. But the word short-time work alone creates uncertainty in the team. That is why we decided against it, even if it would have brought us a total of 20,000 euros more.
What did you learn from the crisis?
Very much. On the one hand, we are bringing some of the production back to Europe. In addition, we have become more flexible as a team – in terms of home office but also in general in the mindset. The crisis was also an evolution booster for us; our planning has now become a lot better.
What change remains after the crisis?
At our Experience Center in Hard, Vorarlberg, customers come and use a 3D body scan to advise them which bike is perfectly tailored to them. We now have the whole thing online. A consultant takes his time and builds his dream bike together with the customer on the screen. Often the customers sit on the couch, drink a glass of wine. This is a productive, pleasant togetherness with a high level of service that we will maintain.
