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IHK report calls Slee “ahead of its time”.
Join in to read the IHK report about Slee (IHK = chamber of commerce). “We’ve always emphasized regional sourcing and production” Stefan Schock (Slee CEO) points out.
Slee on the right path: The IHK Rheinhessen published a detailed report about Slee and the commitment to the location, also naming quality standards and guaranteeing reliability to customers in terms of delivery:
Made in Germany
The Nieder-Olm-based medical device manufacturer Slee has consistently relied on domestic production for many years – and was thus ahead of its time.
Some competitors are abandoning their production facilities in Europe and relocate them to low-wage countries. SLEE medical GmbH has also recently rebuilt and moved – from Mainz to Nieder-Olm. Since Stefan Schock joined as managing director seven years ago, the company has nearly doubled its workforce, to now 45 employees. Normal fiscal years end up with ten percent growth, “this year it’s significantly more.” A success that was achieved completely under high-wage conditions since the medical device manufacturer develops and assembles its devices inhouse. For mechanical parts production, electronics and cooling technology, there are 15 partners, mostly in Germany as well as in the EU.
“When it comes to the question of whether a product can be manufactured economically overall, the total cost estimation is what matters to me,” says Schock, “including smooth processes and stable supply chains. Considering our volume of orders, I’d have way too much overhead cost if I had to fly to China a couple of times a year to discuss details.” Slee manufactures products of which perhaps a few hundred are distributed per year. Customers are universities, hospitals and research institutions – worldwide. “We have distributors in more than 150 countries,” Schock says, “but we’ve always emphasized regional production.”
Clear commitment to the location
The company’s history began in England. In the 1950s, the mechanical engineer Kenneth Slee developed a cooling device as a commissioned work together with a physician, which is commonly known as cryostat today. Mainz started as a sales office and soon became the headquarters for medical technology, until the company was completely relocated in the 1980s. Since the space requirements could no longer be met in Hechtsheim, new premises were built in an industrial park just outside the state capital. Almost 3,000 square meters on a 9,000-square-meter site mean three times more space than before, along with scope for future growth – and, as Schock emphasizes, a clear commitment to the location, even if the company felt somewhat put in second place, in Mainz more than in Nieder-Olm.
The field of application for Slee products is histopathology. This involves the analysis of tissue samples from living patients. The aim is to detect pathological changes and derive diagnoses and treatment options from them. “The samples, which have to be cut to thousandths of a millimeter, are prepared with our devices,” says Schock. “We manufacture everything that is required between specimen collection and microscopy. It’s a niche market, these products are very durable and robust.” A handful of companies are active in this field worldwide, he says; among globally positioned competitors, Slee clearly defines itself as a classic German medium-sized company.
6,000 different individual parts for the product range
Of course, this comes with disadvantages. “That’s where a larger company will go in with a 30 to 50 percent discount and snatch up the job,” Schock says. “We don’t sell ourselves short.” And the numbers prove that his company is not wrong in its course. Maintaining his own quality standards and guaranteeing reliability to customers in terms of delivery – Schock cites these points in favor of the path he has taken. “That was always viable, it just wasn’t modern.” One thing is clear to the managing director: In mass production, migration to low-wage countries is sometimes sensible, if not without alternative. “But for us, this management concept doesn’t fit. Especially in the recent years, with disrupted supply chains and the major political changes, our concept has proven to be extremely robust. We’ve been able to deliver at all times, in an acceptable time.”
Slee uses around 6,000 different individual parts, ranging from catalog goods and standard parts to custom-made products, to assemble its product range. “Our partners reliably manufacture the drawing and design parts according to our requirements,” says Schock. “The work routes are short, there are no cultural barriers and no time differences. So, our day-to-day business is quite simple and cost-efficient. That way we’ve always been economical, probably even more in the recent years.” The CEO describes the wave of outsourcing to low-wage countries as a “herd instinct, which in my view has been carried too far in many places over the last 20 years.” But the wind has changed, he says. Schock speaks of dependencies due to monopolization in many ethically questionable and not necessarily reliable production regions. “I think the mid-sized companies have always been less driven in that regard.”
TORBEN SCHRĂ–DER, FREELANCE JOURNALIST
Read the original report from Torben Schröder here:
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