The customers accept binding agreements
In recent years, RIVAL has built strong partnerships with a significant part of the customer portfolio. The partnerships form the basis for a valuable direction with the customers –¬ and create space for new opportunities.
For a number of years, RIVAL has put partnerships on the agenda in relation to both customers and suppliers. “We have often talked about valuable collaborations, but partnerships are more than that,” RIVAL’s CEO and owner Henrik Holvad says. “They commit in a different way, demand respect and orderliness –¬ and give unique results. Our customers want to be a part of that.”
Joint development towards common goals
The common goals, respect and a common desire that both parties can take action in the collaboration are crucial elements in the strong partnerships. “It is also an important part of our latest decision to purchase two new DMG Mori CLX450TC machines,” Henrik Holvad says. “We have had a very open dialogue with several of our customers about their expected future capacity needs. We now know that it requires increased capacity to live up to the customers’ future needs, and our customers know that we invest to be ready for the future, and they know our prerequisites to do so.”
Furthermore, RIVAL has chosen to phase out several older machines that have done a good job operating for many years. “It has caused some emotional reactions from several of our most experienced employees, who have turned and milled many components on the machines over the years,” foreman Glenn Scharling says. “It confirms what our employees are made of. The solid craftsmanship and the wise hands are important parts of our culture and the basis for the productive automation, we can now implement,” he says.
Professional organisations are a good foundation
It is RIVAL’s experience that the strongest partnerships are build when collaborating on several levels between two professional organisations. “Repeatedly, we have experienced the trust and building of common value it gives to have the dialogue with several contact points in the customer’s organisation,” co-owner and sales manager Christian Aarup says. “We have strong competencies here at RIVAL, which allow us to enter into a collaboration on several levels. It offers great opportunities to make things happen and to develop the collaboration for the common good,” he says.
Ongoing development of the machine factory of the future
With the strong partnerships both up and down in the value chain, RIVAL is well equipped for future development together with customers and suppliers. “It gives us the opportunity to try out new things and take up challenges, which we otherwise would not have wanted to tackle,” Christian Aarup says. “In the bigger perspective, it forms the basis for further development of the machine factory of the future here at RIVAL, as we like to challenge ourselves and want to develop the very best solutions for our customers as well as maintaining a great workplace.”