If it ain’t broke – don't fix it!

2014 is looking to become another record year for Electrolube, the company is recording growth from all over its network. During 2014 the company has seen global growth of 20%. Phil Kinner, Global Business Director of the Coatings Division, says that Electrolube has developed a successful business strategy with subsidiary offices doing their own warehousing and sales. But even with these subsidiary ventures, spanning all but two continents, Europe is still the company's biggest and most important market. But the company's global subsidiaries are certainly earn their keep. Looking at China for instance, the growth figures are around 20% YoY, with the previous year being a record year. In addition, the Chinese R&D team are producing a great number of high performance, innovative materials at a pace that is hard to keep up with, And with a set business model that works semi-independently in supporting the UK headquarters, Phil is clear on what he expects of 2015. “We're looking to see similar growth as this year, and we're looking to continue to reorganise our business into a more product-line focused model, simply because we are looking to bring more focus to our many complimentary product ranges. More than anything, we're looking to demonstrate our technical leadership, through continued innovation and pushing boundaries” says Phil. The road to success – or the road to reaching your goals – is usually 'under construction', or is at least undergoing changes. It never looks the same two days in a row. But to reach its goals for the next year, Electrolube has invested heavily. “We've invested a lot of money into our R&D department, and we're really aiming to be an innovative R&D based company that produces next-generation products that are well tested and well documented,” says Phil. Electrolube is far from the only company that operates in this market, and as Phil explains, the competition is tough. But the industries that the company operates in continues to grow and most, if not all players, can carve out a niche for themselves. However, there is still the need for differentiation, to stand out. So, how does Electrolube do that? “I think it's through innovative products solving customer’s issues. Often it's actually issues they didn't realise they had. We're taking kind of a holistic view of the whole process, giving them the inspiration, the tools, and the guidance to improve their processes, productivity and ultimately the quality and reliability of their products” concludes Phil.