Nicolas Dusch

HARTING Technology Group — German industrial group, a leader in industrial connectivity technology. Present in more than 40 countries, around €1.1bn in revenue, over 6,000 employees. Automation, rail, energy infrastructure, electromobility.

Context

A subsidiary left without a managing director for more than two years, poor communication between departments, an unsuitable organisation chart and an obsolete cabling workshop. Brief: restructure, restart growth and modernise the industrial facility.

Responsibilities and results

• Restructuring the organisation — redesign of the organisation chart, redefinition of remits (customer service, technical support, IT and marketing), management of internal moves and role reductions.
• A new commercial policy — systematic prospecting in untapped sectors (bus manufacturing and refurbishment, agriculture, industrial vehicles), acquisition of new accounts.
• Industrial renovation — modernisation of a 700 m² workshop, investment in cutting and crimping equipment, SAP roll-out for planning, scheduling and stock management.
• Legal and property simplification — merger of the two legal entities into a single structure, renovation of the property assets for better energy performance.

E-T-A Elektrotechnische Apparate GmbH — German industrial group specialising in electrical protection and power management for industrial, aerospace and special-vehicle applications. Circuit protection and electronic circuit breakers for critical electrical systems.

Context

A subsidiary that was sound in human terms but had no clear strategy, an imbalance between sales and administration, and a parent-company product range ill-suited to the French market. Brief: create rapid growth momentum and diversify the business.

Responsibilities and results

• Commercial quick wins — targeted development in aerospace and marine leisure (pleasure boats) to capture new contracts quickly.
• Creation of a cubic electromechanical relay line for industrial vehicles, through a partnership with a Chinese manufacturer and an Italian importer: an approved range distributed on the French market, €500k in revenue.
• A second electronic relay line (German partnership): a €250k contract signed with a bus manufacturer, long-term supply and further recurring customers.
• Launch of a power printed-circuit engineering business (bus bars, power terminals): building the design, quality and production teams; customers in aerospace, defence, industrial vehicles and high-performance data centres.
• Industrial relocation — new 1,700 m² premises with assembly lines fitted out, transition completed without interrupting production.
• European centre of competence — the French subsidiary became the group's centre of competence for custom pre-wired enclosures serving the other European subsidiaries.

Materna Information & Communications SE — German technology group specialising in IT solutions and digital platforms for large companies and public administrations, with deep expertise in IT infrastructure and digital transformation.

Context

Materna, a customer and partner of Siemens, decided to open a subsidiary in France. The brief, given to me as a former Siemens employee: create the entity from nothing and get it running.

Responsibilities and results

• Creating the entity — writing the business plan, incorporating the subsidiary, setting up the partners (bank, accounting, external providers).
• Building the local team — recruitment of five employees.
• First major contract, with SFR — deployment of an SMS services platform on UNIX infrastructure, interconnection with the SFR mobile network, integration of the software suite.
• Delivery management — coordination of multiple providers (IT, telecoms, infrastructure), main commercial contact for SFR, organisation of maintenance and service levels.

Siemens AG — German industrial and technology group, a world leader in industrial automation, energy, smart infrastructure and communication technologies. Present in more than 190 countries.

Responsibilities and results

• Introduction of the C&N products (Ethernet, VoIP) to the Siemens France distributor network.
• Training of distributors' sales teams in network technologies and in the product range.
• Roll-out of the communication plan, creation of sales support material and technical support.
• Main contact with the parent company in Munich for defining and adjusting the product offer.

Responsibilities and results

• Analysis of how multi-site customers could be reached more reliably, internally and externally.
• Audit of voice and data traffic, identification of bottlenecks.
• Proposals to optimise internal processes and reduce communication costs.

Responsibilities and results

• Development of a territory with no prior commercial activity, in cooperation with the Siemens unit in Freiburg.
• Systematic prospecting, collection of installed-base data to anticipate renewals.
• Acquisition of the first reference customers to establish Siemens' local standing.