MAPAL Vertretung in Spanien – Nähe schafft Vertrauen
AYMA Herramientas arbeitet seit den 1970er-Jahren mit MAPAL zusammen
Im Gespräch mit Jesús M. García Lanciego, dem Geschäftsführer der Handelsvertretung, ging es unter anderem darum, wie man das Vertrauen von Kunden gewinnt und wie gute Kommunikation und internationale Kontakte dazu beitragen.
AYMA Herramientas ist ein langjähriger Partner und eine der größten Handelsvertretungen, mit denen MAPAL in Europa zusammenarbeitet. Das Familienunternehmen beschäftigt rund 80 Mitarbeiter und hat ein Handelsnetz über ganz Spanien aufgebaut. Neben der Zentrale in Ezkio-Itsaso hat AYMA Standorte in Vitoria (Álava), Gijón (Asturien) und La Llagosa (Barcelona). Auch in Madrid, Bollullos de la Mitacion (Sevilla), Valencia (Valencia) und Bilbao (Vizcaya) ist das Unternehmen mit Niederlassungen vertreten. Jesús García Uralde, der Vater des heutigen Geschäftsführers Jesús M. García Lanciego, gründete die Handelsvertretung 1959 zusammen mit Partnern.
Ezkio-Itsaso liegt im Baskenland. Die kleine Region am Atlantik galt früher als Zentrum der spanischen Stahl- und Werftindustrie. Das Geschäft von AYMA basierte zunächst auf dem Vertrieb von Sonderstählen für den Maschinenbau. In den 1980er Jahren kamen Präzisionswerkzeuge hinzu – heute konzentriert sich das Unternehmen ganz auf diesen Markt und bietet den Kunden ein umfangreiches Programm und individuelle Prozesslösungen an.
Jesús García Lanciego leitet das Unternehmen zusammen mit José Maria Gorostidi.
Herr Garcia, seit wann arbeiten AYMA und MAPAL zusammen und wie kam es dazu?
Unsere Zusammenarbeit begann in 1970er-Jahren. Mein Vater nahm damals mit MAPAL Kontakt auf und sprach mit dem damaligen geschäftsführenden Gesellschafter, Dr. Georg Kress, über die Möglichkeiten einer Handelsvertretung. Mit dem Vertrieb von Präzisionswerkzeugen wollte er ein zweites Standbein für AYMA schaffen. Da mein Vater ohnehin bei den Kunden vor Ort war, wollte er ihnen ein vielseitigeres Produktsortiment vorstellen. Im Prinzip war es ein logischer Schritt, denn die Abnehmer der Spezialstähle waren potenzielle Kunden für Präzisionswerkzeuge, mit denen sie den Stahl bearbeiten konnten.
Ayma Herramientas is a long-time distribution partner of MAPAL’s. The company’s headquarter is in Ezkio-Itsaso.
What happened next?
So after that AYMA entered the market with the first tools from MAPAL. Initially these were reamers, milling tools and tools with guide pads, which quickly brought us success. MAPAL expanded the product and service range in the following years and we then expanded our range to include the new releases as well. Today, AYMA is present throughout Spain with eight sites and we’re able to react quickly and flexibly to the needs of our customers. Our customers come primarily from the machine engineering and automotive industries. But we’re also active in the aerospace sector, with suppliers and many small companies that manufacture the most diverse products.
Presence of AYMA at the BIEMH 2018 in Bilbao
You´ve since given up steel distribution and now trade exclusively in precision tools.
The steel business became more difficult in the 1980s. We decided at the time to focus solely on trade with precision tools. We knew we were well positioned with MAPAL tools and had the necessary expertise to move forward.
What´s the secret of the long-standing relationship between AYMA and MAPAL?
Both MAPAL and AYMA are family businesses. Both companies stand for continuity in terms of the staff and this creates a lot of trust among customers. As well as this, we maintain a similar corporate culture. We focus heavily on quality, service and innovation. We claim to be at the cutting edge of technology. AYMA benefits from the fact that MAPAL has been consistently expanding its product and service range for decades and is providing strong impetus with new tool developments. This has greatly enhanced our market position in Spain. We have to keep in mind the dynamics with which the automotive industry has developed here in this country. And MAPAL knows the requirements of this sector very well. This is also evident in the field of electric mobility. We see good opportunities there and already have some customers that we are supplying with the appropriate tools from MAPAL.
Are there any other members of your family who are involved with AYMA?
Yes, my brother Luis Garcia (55) also works in the company. He joined AYMA in 1988 and has been with us a little longer than me. Luis has worked in various fields. He started in Sales, where he specialised in the large machine tool manufacturers. He now heads up our Madrid office and serves one of our largest customers.
How intensive would you say the cooperation with MAPAL is?
Our employees are in daily contact with the MAPAL Customer Service team and communication runs smoothly and directly. We’re also in contact with the technicians and development engineers at MAPAL. This is important because larger projects usually involve a corresponding number of custom tools. With technical support from MAPAL, we can optimise the process as soon as the tools are commissioned. Errors do not occur in the first place. It is quite common with major customers that employees from other MAPAL sites are also involved in projects. We have personal contacts there too, which is of course a huge advantage for the customer. In this way, we avoid duplicating work in the design of processes. Everything runs quickly, easily and efficiently.
And how does than pan out in real life?
I can think of two projects with major automobile manufacturers. First, there was a project with FORD. When we first started working with FORD, we worked closely with the specialists at company headquarters and the MAPAL subsidiary in the UK. The work involved a new machining process. We were very well supported in the design and commissioning of the tools. Our concept was perfect and this has had an extremely positive effect on subsequent projects, both here in Spain and at FORD’s other factories abroad. The same applies to our projects with RENAULT. Here, we’ve been working very closely with the MAPAL team in France for many years and have enjoyed lasting success here as well. Projects like these have earned us great trust from our customers.
Technicians and customer service specialists collaborate closely.
Where can I get more information about the AYMA Herramientas commercial agency?
Anyone interested in finding out more can visit our website www.ayma.es and get an overview of our company and our range of services. Our catalogues are also available to download there. Our staff at the headquarters in Ezkio-Itsaso and at our branch offices will be happy to answer your queries. At the moment, the best way to reach them is by email or telephone. But we hope that in the post-coronavirus world, we’ll be able to focus more on face-to-face meetings again. And maybe we’ll even meet at a visit to a trade fair again. We regularly have a stand at BIEMH (International Machine-Tool Biennial Exhibition) in Bilbao and at Metal Madrid.
Jesús M. García Lanciego | CEO | Ayma Herramientas
Jesús M. García Lanciego (57) studied engineering and joined the commercial agency AYMA HERRAMIENTAS in 1989. He initially worked in the technical area to drive the development of the tool programme.
