Bohle Listed As One Of Top 50 SMEs For Innovation

Bohle has been ranked as one of the top 50 small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) for innovation in an exclusive new report.  

The study by Business Week listed the tool, machinery and accessories for glass processing and glass finishing manufacturer and wholesaler, in an elite grouping as Germany’s 29th most innovative SME.

Dave Broxton, Managing Director of Bohle in the UK, said Bohle had an established track record of innovation in Germany but also in the UK.

He said: “A lot of the innovation that Bohle delivers is done so in partnership with our customers, including those in the UK. We’re a wholesaler but also critically, a manufacturer.

“We work incredibly closely with our customers on a day-to-day basis, often at a very grass roots level. That gives us visibility of opportunities but also the challenges that they face.

“We have incredible depth and range to our product offering but if our customers have a requirement and we can’t already meet it, or could perhaps meet it better, as a manufacturer we have the capacity to work with them to develop a solution.”

An independent survey of its customers late last year, found that product range was also listed by two-thirds of those polled as a key factor in determining their decision to buy from Bohle. The product knowledge of the Bohle team was cited by 62 per cent of respondents as an important factor in their purchasing decision.

Innovations from Bohle in the last year range from the small to significant capital investments. This includes the glass consumables manufacturer’s Blue Corner Protector.

Developed in response to customer demand in the UK for a disposable but enhanced performance, corner protector for use with higher value and in particular, processed glass the product launch followed a five month research and development programme.

Suitable for use with 8mm and 10mm glass, the system is manufactured from a specially developed plastic compound designed to absorb energy without cracking.

At the other end of the scale, Bohle also launched its Sedimentor range. Installed to glass processing lines, the highly innovative solution is already saving Bohle customers thousands of pounds each year in time lost in downtime, machinery cleaning, cleaning of water tanks and the costs of waste water disposal contaminated with glass particles.

Bohle has also invested in its customer systems. As part of the series of measures to make it easier to order, Bohle also launched its new 24/7 online ordering website, www.bohle-group.com at the end of the summer. With more than 12,000 products available online, it allows Bohle’s customers to place orders around the clock.

Broxton added: “Innovation is absolutely embedded in our culture and has been a fundamental driver for Bohle’s growth since its foundation by Josef Bohle in 1923 – it permeates absolutely everything that we do. But that this is delivered in partnership with our customers is Bohle’s greatest achievement.”

For more visit the Bohle website www.bohle-group.com email info@bohle.ltd.uk or call the customer services team free on 0800 616151 for more information.