Get together in Cologne for the DEUTZ Distributor Meeting
Every year, DEUTZ invites its sales and service partners to three days of strategic discussion at the DEUTZ Distributor Meeting. In March, more than 100 Asian representative Distributors travelled to the home of DEUTZ in Cologne, the venue in this year.
DEUTZ staff and Distributors from Australia, New Zealand, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Thailand and Bangladesh attended the meeting. The event was held at the Dorint Hotel and DEUTZ AG Headquarter and consisted of a multi-faceted programme of presentations, workshops and the Distributor Award ceremony.
The meeting included exciting product innovation and news from DEUTZ AG, products and corporations, a service show, plant tour, discussions as well as meet-and-greet sessions.
The highlight of the agenda was the purchase of leading German electric drive specialist - Torqeedo GmbH – in 2017, bringing electric and hybrid drive systems a step closer. This move is part of a new E-DEUTZ strategy to lead the off-highway drive system market. Torqeedo is the global market leader and a system solution specialist for integrated electric and hybrid drives for boats.
We were also honoured to have Frank Hiller, Chairman of DEUTZ, who was appointed as a member of the Board of Management of DEUTZ AG and its Chairman with effect from 1 January 2017, participate in the meeting and present the latest developments to the Distributors.
Michael Wellenzohn, member of the Board responsible for Sales, Service and Marketing, was delighted to have our partners in Cologne and he was keen to find out more about the developments in the field and what DEUTZ and our Distributors can do to improve business and to grow further.
Next to the E-DEUTZ strategy the programme included:
- the launch of hybrid and electric drive solutions for mobile equipment – the launch of the first full hybrid DEUTZ installation into mobile telehandler
- the web portal – the global platform for customer interaction and sale of parts
- DEUTZ Connect app – the future of connectivity for operators, OEM’s and Dealers, enabling full remote visibility to our engines
- Engine Plus Products (hydraulic performance system) – new developments in value added solutions offered to our customers
- alternative fuels development
- the parts pricing project
On a lighter note, DEUTZ was delighted to announce the Distributors of the Year for each Region. These Distributors were selected because of their extraordinary services and efforts they put in in the year. The awards went to LK Diesel, Blueprint, PT Maxi, Power Systems and Beijing Cologne Jiexun Diesel Engine.
After the few days of intense meetings and discussions, the participants were happy to relax at a traditional brewing house in the old city of Cologne and to take the opportunity to exchange opinions and experiences of the past days.