Behind the scene at Johnson-Fluiten: The Strength of a Multinational and Multicultural Partnership
In 20 years of work, Johnson-Fluiten, a leading company in the rotary joint industry, has proven the excellence of its solutions: the wide range of products, capable of satisfying the most demanding requirements in many different applications, is combined with the ability to manufacture rotary joints quickly and tailor-made to specific customer requirements.
The company is the result of a joint venture between two well established companies in the sector, Fluiten Italia Spa and Kadant Johnson: in this interview Fulvio Colombo, General Manager of Fluiten Italia Spa, and Mark Strik, Vice President for Europe of Kadant Johnson's Flow Control sector, describe the genesis, growth and prospects of the company twenty years after the foundation of Johnson-Fluiten.
A synergic collaboration between two different companies that becomes a successful case study for industry business. The history, opportunities, marketing and innovation, the past and the future of Johnson-Fluiten Srl reveal what has led this joint venture to become a company with a strong brand and a unique proposition in the rotary joint industry.
Johnson-Fluiten has been in the rotary joint market for 20 years, and is now well known and appreciated, but not everyone knows its origins. How did the collaboration between Kadant and Fluiten begin?
Fulvio Colombo: I have heard this story many times... About 22 years ago, at the end of a long business trip, waiting for the flight home, in a bar in Naples in front of a café, my father, Delfo Colombo found himself discussing with his sales manager, Rino Campaniello, about the range of products that was being offered to the market.
Mechanical seals were the core business of Fluiten Spa, and the production of rotary joints was an interesting and growing part of the company, which required some thought.
The commercial management of this product range was a challenge for the company, which did not have a dedicated sales and marketing structure for this market, since the target customers were not the same as for mechanical seals.
When reflecting on the situation of the different players, it was realised that a name often associated with rotary joints was 'Johnson', but the same name was not present among those of the direct competitors listed by customers.
Mark Strik: The Johnson Corporation was already known as a world leader in the production of steam rotary joints, which were mainly used in paper mills, where the name 'Johnson' was synonymous with 'rotary joint'. Thanks to its extensive sales network, all the most industrialised nations had easy access to steam products and service. What was lacking, however, was specific know-how and product lines to cope with the industrial market which, due to its peculiar applications, relied on different fluids such as oil - water and air.
For this reason, the two companies had never come face to face; both made rotary joints but with different features for different customers. And the development of the industrial sector, especially the European one, was too interesting not to be one of the company's business expansion targets.
So in the early 1990s we had two companies in the same market with different products, cultures, sizes and needs. How difficult was it to come up with the idea of a common project?
Fulvio Colombo: Precisely these differences made the first contacts possible; not being 'direct competitors' means there was no rivalry and, after a short time, the idea that it would be possible to 'complete each other' began to take shape. Fluiten was looking for the right resources to deploy in order to promote its rotary joints and serve customers in an increasingly international market, being able to rely on the technical excellence of the product, production flexibility and a long history in the industrial machinery industry.
Mark Strik: Johnson, on the other hand, aimed to develop new products suitable for an industrial market outside the industry in which it was a leader. The decision to create a technical team to produce a successful range of rotary joints appeared to be a complex and time-consuming process, as the company had no specific know-how on the different target industrial applications. Understanding each other's qualities and working together to achieve common goals was easier than expected.
Fulvio Colombo: Exactly. The business goals were complementary, but the thing that allowed this synergy to grow and take shape was definitely the common mindset. The companies realised that the compatibility was deep: being both 'family' businesses they shared values, ideals, ethics and approach to work.
Mark Strik: Let's say that there was an immediate 'feeling' on a personal level... I would say that considering the similarities, as soon as the idea of a possible joint project emerged, everyone liked the idea. The path that then led to the birth of Johnson-Fluiten was remarkably quick and easy. The first few years were exciting for the whole team!
What were the most memorable moments that you remember from this long journey together that has lasted 20 years?
Mark Strik: One of the most exciting moments was when the company surpassed 10 million in turnover. We are talking about a growth of about four times the initial volume... reaching this amount seemed unthinkable. It was the proof that putting passion and commitment into a project can make it successful and lead to incredible result.
Fulvio Colombo: I believe that the acquisition of Johnson by KADANT in 2005 was also a key event. A large listed multinational absorbing the company with which we had recently shared a common path... The initial concern then dissipated very quickly as the relationship of mutual trust never failed.
Speaking of business and market, what has differentiated Johnson-Fluiten solutions from the competitors? And are these aspects still valid today?
Mark Strik: There are several aspects that have been, and still are, winners in the Johnson-Fluiten offering; the range of products... with our rotary joints we can handle all types of fluid: water, oil (diathermic but also hydraulic), coolant, air and steam. And this allows us to successfully serve different markets; from steel to pharmaceuticals, from machine tools to food, and from paper to rubber and plastic.
More specifically, Johnson-Fluiten products can be proud of a unique benefit; thanks to our know-how we have developed a unique solution; the 'Quick Replacement Design'(QRD). The R-RH series couplings have been designed to allow quick replacement of the mechanical seal without having to remove the component from the machine. The advantage for users is considerable; the machine equipped with QRD rotary joints will benefit from extremely reduced maintenance times compared to the same machine with standard components.
Fulvio Colombo: Another key factor behind the success lies in Johnson-Fluiten's DNA, as it is very similar to Fluiten's. A very important share of the current production is represented by CUSTOM and tailor-made products. Distinctiveness from the competition is an added value that is still recognised by the market.
In addition, the G series of rotary joints we offer can claim the unique LASER LIFT technology with which the mechanical seal is made. This innovation represents a special feature that is unmatched worldwide and makes these products particularly suitable for specific industrial applications, such as machine tools, which can benefit from this feature that improves the performance of the mechanical seal.
What is the core message of this brand today? How does Johnson-Fluiten remain unique in the minds of customers?
Fulvio Colombo: The market nowadays takes many things for granted; all users expect, or rather 'demand' that the product works and performs to the highest level. And this must be understood, the basis for our joints is production quality, the care with which components are made, then assembled and finally tested is now the starting point against which we compete in the world of manufacturing.
The real point of difference nowadays is service.
The importance of everything 'behind' the final product is especially important to us. Aspects such as speed of reply and repair service, the search for customised solutions and constant customer focus are the real goals for us.
Mark Strik: When we think about Johnson-Fluiten products, we want to be associated with all-round quality; both the pre-sales and after-sales service provided by our sales staff and the technical staff when it comes to finding solutions to problems on special applications.
We want to become a true 'partner' for the customer; we want to provide solutions, we want to do this as effectively as possible and as quickly as possible when it comes to delivery.
The issue of sustainability and efficiency is also of vital importance to us. This is what our products must guarantee, a real value for the customer that must be translated into an advantage.
For example, with the introduction of our latest joints that can be adapted to more fluids and applications, we can reduce the customer's inventory that can use one solution for more machines.
Let's take a look at the future, what are the prospects and next goals?
Mark Strik: We want to continue to grow. The drive to keep expanding the product portfolio and the quality standard is the concept that has proven to be successful..
Fulvio Colombo: Internal expansion. Definitely, but also geographically, there are still several areas that have a lot of margin for development. I am thinking of emerging economies, South America to Asia for example. And to certain sectors that are proving to be increasingly interesting, for example that of RENDERING machines, i.e. for processing animal waste to produce bone meal.
Mark Strik: There are many goals we are aiming for, but given the results beyond our expectations so far, we can only drive our resources and passion in the same direction we took 20 years ago. And as we say, "sky is the limit…”.
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