Interview with Manfred Geiss, Managing Director of Geiss AG

What is Geiss position on German market and how it was changing during the years?
On cut sheet forming and on single station thermoformers we are global leader and also in productivity: last year we delivered 75 thermoforming machines at a volume of 22 million EURO. In the past GEISS was a small, local supplier. But we always were known for innovative, groundbreaking ideas.

Motto of your company is „One step ahead”. What does it mean?
Our history shows that for more than 40 years our developments for thermoforming always were one step ahead of our competitors. Many ideas were copied but never we copied another supplier’s idea!

Geiss deal with building thermoforming machines as well as milling machines CNC. Which one activity is more difficult?
CNC machines require other machine elements and require another know how. We do not see that one is more difficult than other. But our customers seem to need more learning and more skill on the CNCs.

Manfred Geiss

What are the biggest challenges in thermoforming sector now? It means what are the biggest technical requirements and the customers’ expectations?
Biggest challenge for our customers is to introduce themselves in composite forming and in twinsheet forming. Both technologies are new but can be managed by modern equipments.

Thanks to cooperation with KMP Plastics you are present on polish market too. How important is polish market for Geiss company?
Poland is one of our neighbour countries. All neighbour countries are most important. But unfortunately we did not find the cooperation partners before which fulfilled our requirements.

Could you compare Polish and German market? Are there some differences?
Sorry, but we are too young in this market. But we still have two of our biggest customers worldwide in Poland!

Germany has a worse situation than Poland because of crisis. What is your plan for this hard time? Is the crisis a big problem for Geiss company?
It is true that the crisis in Germany is harder to see than in Poland. We are working reduced hours since three months. Our employees have an employment guarantee as these specialists are our most important capital. We must keep them to serve our clients all over the world. We reduced our income but we still do not lose money.

We have K exhibition in Dusseldorf next year, are you going to participate in it? If yes, could you please tell us what is the meaning of fairs for enterprise in days of internet and quick touch with the customer?
The most important exhibition for us is “K”, where we will participate as ever. We know about the importance of Internet and Email. But we have increased our presence on international and national exhibitions. Nothing can replace the direct face- to- face contact between our customers and our specialists.

How many Geiss machines is working in the world now?
Nearly 3000 thermoforming machines and more than 600 CNCs.

What stand out Geiss company from other thermoforming machines producers?
The 6 Geiss highlights are: infinitely adjustable clamping frame, infinitely adjustable window plate, parametric, the halogen heaters, the product range thermoformers and CNCs, the TT-in-on, the online connection of thermoforming and trimming machine.

What are your plans for the future?
After our greatest success, the model “T8” we are now developing the “T9” which will concentrate on high speed, thin wall, twinsheet products. On the CNCs we want to develop a stronger presence on mould making and aircraft applications.

Thank you for the interview
Maszyny do termoformowania, Frezarki CNC
 

Double screw extruders, Driers, Mills, cruschers, Temperature regulators, Thermoforming

Polska