theceomagazine.com | 41“Innovative and forward-looking technologies, local
presence and an extensive product portfolio designed
in accordance to German quality perception, make
RAYLASE the leading partner in the Asian market.”
- Dr Philipp Schön, CEO, RAYLASE GmbH
challenge setting up a company in a new
environment and selling equipment in a tough
market. But I loved it because, for me, it’s interesting
that we got to see a lot of different industries and
have exposure to different kinds of customers and
projects. Building this up from scratch was definitely
challenging but at the same time, a great experience.”
Jürgen was also instrumental in establishing the
company’s semiconductor industry in China – a
major component used in electronics. “Globally, ASYS
was not doing any kind of semiconductor solutions,
so three years ago, I saw the potential in China for
semiconductor chips,” he says. “I was looking at our
products and what we could modify in terms of
regimens and processes that can use semiconductors.
“We approached the first accounts here without
any support from Germany – it was purely a local
business development. And within two years we
managed to get into three of the top five chip
manufacturers from China. Now we are in the top
10 customer groups of semiconductors.”
Over the years at the helm of ASYS Group
China, Jürgen continued driving home the lesson on
continual self-improvement. “I always try to empower
the people,” he says. “I try to make it clear to them
what their responsibility is and how far they can
go in making their own decisions. I want them to
be able to work independently; to have their own
ideas and a sense of responsibility for their business
unit or customer.”
Jürgen acknowledges that when you get new
people on board, you have to teach them how to
follow certain processes, but it should not be about
micromanaging. “For me, it’s definitely about trusting
the people I have in my team; giving them some
guidance but letting them have their own learning
curve. It also means giving them regular feedback on
what is good, what is bad and how we can improve.
“I want our people to have a sense that whatever
we do in our corporate life – how we talk to a
customer or how we design the machines – if there’s
anything that’s not running well, we need to address
it. As I said, you have to keep improving otherwise
you stop being good.”
Today, ASYS Group is poised for a promising
future. “I’m extremely proud of bringing the whole
organisation up to the level that we are at today,”
Jürgen says. “The base we have built over the past
few years is really strong. And my experience in
management has taught me that if I’m out of the
company and it performs amazingly, then I have
done my job perfectly.”ASYS
GROUP HAS
SUBSIDIARIES
IN MORE THAN
40 COUNTRIES
AROUND THE
WORLD.Interview | INSPIRE