Aebi Schmidt values Switzerland as manufacturing location
Frauenfeld – Manufacturing in Switzerland brings benefits for Aebi Schmidt thanks to the country’s high quality standards, revealed CEO Barend Fruithof. In an interview, he said companies must continue to innovative and there are great opportunities for driverless snow ploughs at airports.
The Thurgau-based machine manufacture Aebi Schmidt plans to continue its production in Switzerland. It makes sense for the company thanks to the country’s high quality standards, as Barend Fruithof explained in an interview with the newspaper “Handelszeitung”.
“If we offer better service, make replacement parts available more quickly, and provide tailored devices with a longer lifetime and lower maintenance costs, it is acceptable if our products are a few francs more expensive,” said the CEO of Aebi Schmidt.
He added that the products must also be technically better, more innovative and more efficient than the competition.
The machinery manufacturer intends to break ahead in the development of vehicles of the future. It already sells electrically powered products, as well as a self-driving tractor, according to Fruithof.
Three years ago, Aebi Schmidt acquired the Dutch analysis company DMi. “It monitors vehicle fleets. These systems are important for self-driving vehicles, as well as devices with electric motors,” explained Fruithof.
He sees great opportunities in the field of autonomous driving for his company in areas “that demand repetitive work”. As an example, he cited clearing snow at airports. “The ground is insulated and mostly flat, and the quicker it is cleared, the greater the productivity,” said Fruithof.