The Exceptional Successes of a Czech Company on the German Market

INVESTOŘI V MSK The Exceptional Successes of a Czech Company on the German Market It is not every day that a Czech company successfully manages an acquisition west of our border. We talked to Jakub Weimann, a board member at BONATRANS GROUP a.s., about just how this came to be accomplished and how it can be used to inspire other Czech companies. Mr Weimann, in last year’s interview you outlined your plans and goals for the future. Did any of these plans come to fruition? What is new at BONATRANS GROUP a.s.? Throughout this last year, we, along with everyone else, have been faced with the coronavirus pandemic and I believe we have been doing well. We managed to maintain 24/7 production uptime and were able to reach record performance. We also managed to increase our market share, mainly in the supply of materials for newly assembled wagons. We additionally established a framework agreement with the Škoda Transportation group, making us their exclusive wheelset supplier. Furthermore, we successfully took part in the Trenitalia tender, making us one of two wheel suppliers for the Italian market, accomplishing one of our strategic goals. Thanks to these events, I believe that we had a successful year. At the same time, we also continued investment in company development. Over the last two years, the figure of this investment rose above a billion Czech crowns and we managed to secure the follow-through of the funding. In 2014, you acquired the German company GHHRadsatz and created the GHH-BONATRANS group. What was the origin behind your motivation to enter the German market? The German railway market is the largest one in Europe, involving top-class companies, which makes it a reference market. The decision itself stems from the early 90s, when BONATRANS began entering into western markets. We obtained a certificate from the German railway company, which was key. Gradually, we became the biggest supplier of wheelsets for the German railway, for both passenger and freight transport, and for all types of rolling stock, which was a very important milestone for us. A while later, in 2014, we acquired GHH-Radsatz, which is a company that supplies products that are complementary to our own. While we specialize in so-called heavy rail products (aimed at trains and majority of metro cars), GHH-Radsatz focuses on light rail vehicles (such as trams and minority of carriages for metro systems). When we saw the opportunity to acquire a German company, which so perfectly complemented our own, it was a very logical step, and our shareholders agreed. When you were expanding into Germany, did you turn to the Chamber of Commerce or another similar organisation? The entire process was built on the fact that we understood (and still do) the market and our competition very well; GHH-Radsatz was included in this, so there was no need. Detailed knowledge of the market is one of the main reasons why BONATRANS has been so successful. 62 ǀ POSITIV 4/2021 Did you encounter any issues that you had to overcome in the acquisition process? Of course we did. It was a merger of two companies from vastly different environments, with differing histories and products. GHH-Radsatz is located in Oberhausen, an industrial region similar to Ostrava, also a former center for metallurgy and coal mining, however, it is also in western Germany, sporting a very different culture. The merger mainly involved the consolidation of processes necessary to run the company along with the familiarization of business and technology. Therefore our mentalities were different, however, our goal was the same and the mutual respect the two companies held for each other in their fields helped us come together. The path Czech companies have to take to enter the German market is a difficult one. How can they achieve success in a foreign market? Do you have any tips? It is key to understand the mentality of people already in the market and how the market functions—not only who the customer is, but often also who the customer’s customer is.