Review of the year and outlook for the new year by Judith Deitert and Jonas Wissing

There was little sign of the initial doubts caused by the Corona pandemic on the part of our customers in 2021. We were therefore able to increase our orders by 10% year-on-year. However, the lack of availability of components is having an impact on us. Although we have secured the ability to supply our own products by keeping critical components in stock, we are unable to supply our mobile and stationary products. However, in some cases we are unable to assemble our mobile and stationary weighing systems, or can only do so with delays, as the delivery of construction machinery is delayed due to a lack of components.

In addition to these developments, 2021 was an exciting year for us personally in particular. After gradually taking over the management of individual company divisions, we joined the management of PFREUNDT in the middle of the year. Together with our father Ludger Wissing, we now form a management trio.

PFREUNDT is in a good starting position for the coming year 2022. In addition to the implementation of exciting projects, which will focus on the digitalization of processes at our customers and the associated realization of savings potential, we are planning to expand the international marketing of PFREUNDT weighing systems. We will also be investing in the Südlohn site. The planned construction work for the second floor of the office building has already begun and will be completed next year.

In addition, we are looking forward to welcoming our customers again in person at the fairs IFAT and BAUMA in 2022. It is true that the pandemic has driven digital networking forward and we have also used the time to further digitalize and optimize our processes, for example by expanding our digital training platform. However, this cannot replace personal contact and direct exchange with our customers.

We hope that the new German government will reduce bureaucracy and promote digitization in government agencies. In addition, we urgently need a uniform, unbureaucratic procedure for calibrating scales throughout the country, based on the approach taken in North Rhine-Westphalia. This is because in this federal state the authorities take into account the current measured values submitted by PFREUNDT when carrying out calibrations. This procedure, which was developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Economics, is uncomplicated for all parties involved - authorities, customers and PFREUNDT - and thus saves time and costs. PFREUNDT needs the support of politicians for a uniform interpretation throughout Germany of the law that makes this path possible.