FIRE: How is Rosenbauer developing to meet the changing requirements of the re market?
WM: European Standards demand some fine-tuning of the products whether EN will be implemented in every country, or if national regulations will still exist. The effect of EN will be that regional prices will go up because there'll be more demand for improvements but it's common practice that the customers don't want to pay for it, at least not the extra cost.
There has also been a diversification of our product range by acquiring, from Lenzing, the Coling extinguishing systems.
FIRE: Are Rosenbauer represented on standards' committees?
WM: Our technical people participate in all the decision making and the formulation of standards. The situation is that every supplier wants to maintain the existing standard and not change it because every change in manufacturing means added cost. We have to find a common bottom line which doesn't deteriorate the existing standard, but that isn't easy. There is reluctance from national committees to change too quickly.
FIRE: Is there a problem between the brigades and manufacturers in not having a forum for discussing these issues?
WM: There is discussion of the technical standards in the committees, but it is a question of whether the brigades will be able to afford it, or whether the public spending is prepared to fund it.
FIRE: Does the current economic climate also provide problems?
WM: Well, there is no country in Europe that is so rich that public spending is not controlled or reviewed.
FIRE: Is that your major concern?
WM: The major concern is that Rosenbauer has always been at the forefront of technical development and we have the reputation that we can do a lot, if technically possible. And we have to maintain that. But we have to be commercially successful otherwise we don't survive. This is always a compromise. In the fire industry, many more people who decide in the end about the purchase have never been in contact with the product. It's not the end user who decides, but the budget department.
FIRE: So it is getting more difficult to win tenders?
WM: I'll give you an example. In Belgium the Minister for the Interior goes out for a two-year purchase and you have the market or you don't. This means that you're gambling for every tender and it's getting cheaper, cheaper, cheaper, cheaper. You take the milk from the cow or you take the steak.
FIRE: Would greater conformity for tenders help?
WM: The tender document is very elaborate and very precise, but they do specify usually the minimum technical level and the common figure is always the lowest. So many people comply with it, and then it comes down to the price. Fortunately we do cover the world, so ups and downs in individual countries are balanced.
FIRE: What would you say puts Rosenbauer ahead of your rivals?
WM: We are successful in funding research and development to find new products. We still work with traditional body-builders, who do framework which is panelled and rumpled. We have gone in to aluminium sheets which are laser cut and bent, bolted and glued. A process I liken to Ikea. Basically, we should be able, with the right partner, to put the fire truck body in a box, send out the pre-prepared panels, and the partner will assemble like Ikea furniture. This is a way we can get into local markets. We produce our own pumps, our own monitors, so the complete water hydraulic part is still our own product.
FIRE: Have you always done it that way?
WM: No, because we have to consider that if we let others produce the pump and the more hi-tech part of the fire truck, do we create a competitor?
We come down to a different market level with local alliances. This is why we sold our operations in Norway and Belgium in a management buy-out. These companies are still agents for Rosenbauer. In Norway the market is around 30, maybe 45 trucks a year. That's a difficult exercise to produce yourself. But we do supply the components, the modules and they finish it. So, it is a different approach to the market and the advantage we have is our product range, from industrial to municipal fire brigades, to airport rescue trucks. We have the capability with the modular system to quite rapidly respond to different requirements.
FIRE: How does this modular system work across Europe?
WM: The Road Regulations for example say you must not be overweight: you must not go over 16 tonnes, whereas the same truck for export can go up to 20/21 tonnes. So the request of the brigade is to be as lightweight as possible, offer as much space as possible, and be able to carry more and more equipment.
The general trend now, at least in Austria, is that the ratio of calls to the fire brigade for fires is below 20 per cent and above 80 per cent for technical assistance after storms, natural disasters, floods, or road accidents. So the profile has changed. Also, the majority of the firefighters are volunteers, so the little villages can only afford one fire truck, and these have to perform all duties, be universal. The stowage of the equipment becomes more important. The ergonomic working environment becomes more important, so you can throw everything in a big box or you can stow it properly and you can remove it quickly and safely. We offer the firefighter a better working environment, but we have the problem that these details are not specified in the public tender. Ergonomic detail are not usually part of an international tender and therefore we offer advantages that are not taken into account by the tender evaluation.
FIRE: You talk a great deal to the end user?
WM: We try to be in touch as much as possible with the end user. You have to fine tune in a way that the firefighter is getting the best performance with the lowest possible personal risk. So he's getting a tool that's safe, efficient and reliable.
FIRE: What are you doing for the new dimension terrorist threat, with mass decontamination equipment etc?
WM: Not every fire engine manufacturer could develop the detection technologies necessary, but these need converting to the fire need. We don't need to reinvent the wheel, we just need to make them more fit for application. The electronics need to be to a military standard so it can withstand rough handling. It is all available, you just have to get it together. That's the major problem because hazardous materials at major incidents are a threat. In Germany they work with the chemical industry, but when you go to other countries, China and so on, there are different levels of awareness in society. Nobody cares about an oil or chemical spill in China. That would not be tolerated in Europe.
FIRE: Where does Rosenbauer's go from here?
WM: We need to remain flexible and to further develop modular systems so that computer assisted design is becoming more and more common practice.
Airports will certainly become more of a problem when the A380 Airbus comes in. This is a completely new challenge because if you want to evacuate 600 people out of an aircraft you have to think in terms of a new dimension. A big challenge is also how to fight a fire inside an aircraft, and this also becomes a problem in the legislation. You have the piercing nozzles now, but this is like an injection: you get the vaccine but you don't get the volume inside an aircraft to fight a fire. So this is making things challenging and interesting. How do you evacuate people?
The cockpit of a 747 is between 13 and 14 metres above ground level. Now comes the A380 with hundreds of people--how do you get them out?
The next challenge will be the commercial package, electronics, how to have the proper link of body and chassis working together. Also, the Exhaust Emission Regulations which will become mandatory in October 2006. This means there will be another piece of apparatus taking space and the truck manufacturers will say we have to live with it, we have to modify the body, or modify the pump, because the truck manufacturer may say, the truck is running at 1,600 revs, not 2,000 anymore.
Equally, the chassis maker will say we have to make 100,000 trucks a year and the simpler they are, the more standardised they are, the better for us. This may open up a niche once again for specialised truck manufacturers who are prepared to go into this.
FIRE: So the key is being as flexible as possible?
WM: Yes. If you look at a truck that is used to carry bananas from Istanbul to Hamburg, the driver climbs into the cabin and drives 500 km. A fire engine has a completely different profile. We then have to find a body which is ergonomic. Also the chassis has to be lightweight and more flexible.
