Joined EXTE's management team for a year: Holger S. Manske

“WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD”

He has been on the management of EXTE for a year: Holger S. Manske is responsible for sales, marketing, IT and finances at the specialist for shutter box and window accessory systems, among other things. With Dan Friedl, who as managing partner is responsible for production as well as innovation and development, the dual leadership has set themselves “clear goals” for the consistent development of the company. In an interview, they both explain what is behind this. And also why Fensterbau Frontale is due for a new trade fair appearance.

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Mr. Manske, you have been a member of EXTE's management team since the beginning of 2023: What is your summary after just under 12 months?

Holger S. Manske: We are a healthy and innovative family company with a solid basis. We score points with short, quick decision-making processes and act agilely and flexibly in the interests of our customers. The most important thing for us is that our customers successfully develop with EXTE solutions. The topic of equal partnership is essential for us and we also work together with our customers — manufacturers, window manufacturers, system houses and wholesalers. We do not see ourselves as a mere supplier, but as an efficient problem-solving and development partner.

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What distinguishes the company at the Wipperfürth location?

Holger S. Manske: I was particularly impressed by the high level of development expertise. Coupled with a managing partner who knows the company and the market inside and out, this is exceptional in my opinion.

Dan Friedl: We are quick in analyzing challenges and solving problems: from the product idea to the corresponding development to production. With the new construction of our Wipperfürth headquarters in 2019, we have made a big leap in terms of production and energy efficiency. The realignment also includes continuous improvements based on lean principles, with the main focus on lean production and continuous process optimization.

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Speaking of in-house production and rapid development processes: What makes EXTE products and solutions attractive to customers in general?

Dan Friedl: With our product portfolio in the area of roller shutter box systems, we offer the right solutions for all structural challenges: from the smallest renovation requirement to new construction. We have a four-unit roller shutter box system program — and all of this is based on our XT platform. Accordingly, we offer many identical parts, which allows our customers to keep their product range small. A key point here is that we have over 400 colors and decors in our portfolio to meet the entire range of color requirements. We also have an extremely extensive range of construction profiles. Here, too, we offer innovative solutions for products related to windows and doors, which are also manufactured in the entire range of decorations. Ease of assembly is our driving force for all EXTE products: From the manufacturer in the factory to the assembly company on the construction site, our detailed solutions ensure quick and extremely simple assembly.

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Quo vadis EXTE — what are your main goals?

Dan Friedl: Our ultimate goal is to continuously expand our innovative leadership. We listen to the market for this, talk intensively with our customers and integrate them into the innovation process. This means that we implement new solutions as part of our own research and development and take our customers along the path of innovation. In short: We want to move forward — and get better and better. To this end, we have defined clear goals in all areas of the company.

Holger S. Manske: An important task is to restructure and strengthen sales and to further promote our internationalization. We have already initiated a variety of measures here. For example, we are now working on Germany on a regional basis, with our sales representatives for the North, Central and South areas responsible for the entire EXTE product portfolio. With a view to other international markets, there is still a lot of potential that we need to exploit. To this end, we have defined core countries on which we concentrate our sales work.

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In addition to strengthening sales, what else are you focusing on?

Holger S. Manske: In the area of marketing and communication, the targeted expansion of previous activities is pending — such as the redesign of our external presence, such as the EXTE website, which is planned to relaunch in the first quarter of 2024. Digitalization is also a huge issue for us. Our goal is: We tackle everything that makes sense to digitize. A current example is the digitization of our warehouse management systems. When processing orders, it is also important to automatically read as much as possible into our systems and no longer manually rework them. In the area of personnel, it is still strategically important for us as an employer to find and retain the best employees. We train new talent ourselves and offer good career opportunities.

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Why is the sustainability approach so important for EXTE?

Dan Friedl: As a family-owned company firmly rooted in the region, sustainability is an important issue; we think and act across generations. It is not the short-term nature of quarterly results that drives us, but long-term planning and orientation towards continuous sustainable growth. Of course, we are also keeping an eye on our CO2 footprint: In 2024, we will expand our existing photovoltaic system. In Wipperfürth, the second half of the roof of our approximately 10,000 m² production building will then be reequipped in order to produce a significant part of our energy requirements ourselves in the future. We have also been helping to save energy for a long time with our innovative products. They form the basis for sustainable living with a feel-good factor in order to shade houses and living spaces in a meaningful way.

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Fensterbau Frontale has also long since cast its shadow ahead: What's up with EXTE?

Holger S. Manske: Our preparations are in full swing. Fensterbau Frontale is the leading trade fair for our products and an important industry meeting for meeting our core target group of manufacturers in person and presenting our new products to them. We will be showing the further developments of all roller shutter box systems and also a new solution specifically for the Italian market. Our new exhibition presence in Hall 7 will be significantly more prominent than before: A new exhibition stand of around 150 m² was designed for this purpose. We are looking forward to exchanging ideas with the specialist audience and presenting our entire program — from roller shutter box systems to construction profiles and cladding solutions. Our newly formed sales team led by general sales manager Kai Steingrebe is also part of our exhibition team.

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The image rights are held by EXTE GmbH; editors may use the listed and sent images for an unlimited period of time.

The Wipperfürth-based manufacturer EXTE is a specialist in shutter box systems, window accessories and privacy elements. As a partner to the construction industry, EXTE supplies system houses, window manufacturers and manufacturers. The company sees itself as a price and technology leader and develops and produces all systems and tools itself at three locations in Germany.

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Contact editors
Anja Pieper
Editor/M.A.
Freelance journalist (DJV)
Galoppstraße 86, 44229 Dortmund
Phone +49 231 9767 575 - Anja-Pieper@t-online.de

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