V - The magazine of the VOLLMER Group - 2019

Will these products then be connected to other systems or machines? Dr Brand: Of course. Connectivity is certainly the hallmark of digitalisation. Here too, we're not going to vastly change our remit. We won't be operating our own platform or server farms. But we can offer our customers the opportunity to share data with other machines and systems in the company via all common interfaces and protocols. Do you also foresee risks in moving towards digital connectivity? Dr Brand: Definitely. Just like in the analogue world, there are also criminals who can break into systems and sometimes wreak some serious damage there. Data security is therefore of tantamount importance to us. In order to check whether our systems and solutions are secure, and to learn what we can possibly still do better, we put our systems through reg- ular stress tests in the form of real external attacks. We take this issue very seriously. It's not just a new business area, VOLLMER is building a whole new facility... Dr Brand: Exactly. We're looking to the future here too. When we developed our future strategy in 2016, it quickly became clear that if we wanted to implement it, we'd need more than the existing site. The new factory on the outskirts new digital products from the drawing board. On the contrary, we find more and more innovative solutions for specific tasks for ourselves, and then afterwards we see that our customers face exactly the same challenges. Finally, it's always about helping people to stay on top of things in an environment that's becoming increasingly complex. What will the start of digital connectivity mean for your customers? Dr Brand: First it's important to be clear that not everyone means the same thing when they talk about the same thing. So our first job is to work out with our customers what exactly they want and need from this. Then we'll help them find the appropriate solution step by step. In this respect, we see digitalisation less as a product and more as a philosophy. We are and remain machine manufacturers. We are not making economic success with digital products our primary focus. Rather, these are aids to make our processes faster, more efficient and more flexible. ˝In this respect, we see digitalisation less as a product and more as a philosophy. We are and remain machine manufacturers.” 28