Corporate consulting company Munich Strategy Group (MSG) investigated 900 midsize companies in Germany.
The analysis involved three figures significant for long-term market success: the financial cost for research and development, sales trends and financial profit. MSG then determined a ranking to discover the companies who combine innovative success with good sales and profit performance. LEWA was identified in this ranking as one of the top innovators among the midsize companies.
"The evaluation showed that LEWA manages better than other companies to innovate on the product, process, and strategic levels, creating the basis for positive sales and profit trends," say the consultants, justifying the placement of LEWA among the 20 best.
For CEO Bernd M. Stütz and the entire staff, this result simultaneously confirms and motivates a continuation of the strategic direction and basic corporate philosophy.
"For 60 years, LEWA has set technical standards in diaphragm pumps and metering systems for process technology. Being innovative, setting milestones, those are a significant part of our corporate culture."
Stütz interprets "innovation" as not simply a technical feature. "It’s naturally remarkable when we are the only manufacturer capable of offering the customer a process diaphragm pump for pressures up to 1000 bar with a PTFE diaphragm.
"But it is just as important for our market success to be outstandingly close to the customer with services throughout the complete lifecycle of the products and to have internationally perfectly networked project management."
The company’s development from a technology provider to a solution provider (Creating Fluid Solutions) was started years ago, and today Bernd Stütz feels entirely vindicated in this decision by success on the market.
"We rely on a closed circulation from customer consulting, development, production, and a worldwide service network, that isn’t just structurally anchored but also culturally anchored in the company."
Innovation at LEWA is primarily based on team performance, although external business knowledge is not ignored. The company has worked for years with universities and other scientific institutions. The yearly event series ‘Green Technologies Day’, initiated by LEWA, also provides us with a view outside our own backyard, providing a venue for both external and internal speakers to spend an entire day discussing different aspects of an environmentally relevant topic – and that doesn’t just mean pumps.
As a midsize company, LEWA has managed since its foundation in 1952 to retain the values of the original family business during its development into a company with international character.
Today, with over 700 employees and sales of about €150m worldwide, the company is among the competence leaders in fluid metering, particularly in critical processes and safety-relevant applications. LEWA also represents products by other well-known manufacturers through its regional sales organisation, with a focus on the European market. With 16 subsidiaries and a large number of authorized representatives, users can find offices and cooperation partners in over 90 countries.
The expanded product line after the 2009 merger of LEWA with the Japanese group Nikkiso Co. Ltd. strengthened the positions of both companies on the world market.