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How did Lantek become one of the leading providers of software for sheet metal processing?
The ambition to become a "leading provider" was formulated early on as a vision for our international significance – and accordingly, I saw it as a mission. Our success recipe in Germany is a stable team with minimal employee turnover, delivering solutions to customers with perfect expertise. I consider the continuous increase in maintenance contracts, now accounting for 50% of our revenue, as a sign that our customers appreciate this continuity.
When we entered the German market, we had only one customer: Messer Cutting Systems in Groß-Umstadt. With our software in their machines, they generated the first six customers in Germany.
Our strategy for gaining market visibility was to initially build a customer base through several machine manufacturers, serving as references for other potential clients. Offering software involves initially engaging in "abstract selling" of solutions to problems, without a physical product. The customer only realizes the value of the software over time and understands what is happening invisibly. Nevertheless, we are judged by the end result – a perfect cut of a part. Initially, it was quite physically demanding; I used to drive to customers with a server tower and a 19-inch CRT monitor until laptops became available.
That sounds like pioneering work from a past time.
In essence, it was – considering that a year before the opening of our German branch, Windows 95 introduced the first graphical PC user interface to the market. The output of our CAD/CAM box software, the CNC code, now reaches the machine with a click of the mouse. Initially, this was done through punched tape, which had to be printed and then read by the machine. Later, the transfer was done through a signal – you could follow it line by line on the screen. With the appropriate hardware, we tested the signals to ensure they reached the machine. One time, it just wouldn’t work until we discovered that a mouse had chewed through a cable.
What role do machine manufacturers (OEM, Original Equipment Manufacturer) play for Lantek today?
We defined them early on as a crucial sales channel through their equipment equipped with our CAD/CAM software, using it to establish the Lantek brand in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. We continue to maintain and expand these partnerships because they frequently bring us new customers and provide a stable foundation for further expansion.
Why is Lantek’s multivendor policy so important?
The multi-manufacturer approach of Lantek is a true differentiator in our industry and is backed by intense work and thorough research. With over 4500 machine models on our radar, we offer a unique solution: software that adapts to all of them. This approach not only saves learning time but also simplifies system integration and ensures impeccable data management. The result for companies is remarkable operational efficiency and consistency in their processes that was difficult to achieve before.
Since our early days, we have been committed to understanding and addressing the challenges of machine control. But we don’t stop there. We constantly strive to stay at the forefront of innovation in cutting-edge technology and meet the changing needs of our customers. And here’s the key: from the beginning, we have designed our software with a multi-manufacturer mindset. This strategic decision has been crucial to Lantek’s success and has allowed our customers to expand their machine fleet without complications.
How has Lantek expanded its portfolio to further support sheet metal processing companies?
After the CAD/CAM software modules Lantek Expert and Lantek Flex 3D, we quickly shifted focus to Manufacturing Execution System (MES). With Lantek Manager, users can manufacture across orders and monitor and track the status of production at any time. Convincing customers required a lot of effort, as this approach collided with the traditional "paper thinking" or perceived greater flexibility when organizing production on the fly or from memory. Some still prefer order folders on the table that the customer shuffles around for production organization.
After Lantek Manager, we ventured into management and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) with Lantek Integra, completing our software suite. Our customers can now control the entire process with Lantek, from importing customer geometry data to outputting invoice information via a financial interface. Long before the German government coined the term "Industry 4.0" at the Hannover Messe in 2011, Lantek was already thinking in this direction – connecting machines and processes through information and communication technology. Our founder drove this vision forward and demanded its implementation from his employees. That’s why Lantek Integra stands as a mature product today.
What benefits does the sheet metal industry gain from it?
As specialists who, due to years of market experience, understand the requirements of sheet metal manufacturers, Lantek has designed its software suite as a solution specifically for this industry. Our goal is to reduce interfaces and, consequently, the effort involved in transferring data between various software islands with a unified, data-protected solution. As industry experts, we can also adapt our software to the further development of sheet metal manufacturing.
How do you gain insights?
One source of our success is our consistent internationalization strategy. This exposes us continuously to different approaches and types of machines, fostering international exchange.
Without always realizing it directly, our existing customers also benefit from our market leadership and international presence. Each newly acquired expertise is incorporated into our standard solution through our annual updates. This keeps the software affordable for our customers, and we don’t have to start developing a solution from scratch with each new configuration. It also ensures the reproducibility of an installation – regardless of the customer’s situation on-site. This allows our technicians to easily maintain and update the software, including all customizations and individualizations.
For software to remain modern and relevant, continuously incorporating changes in the industry and developments in hardware and software is essential.
Is the industry in Germany, as well as in Austria and Switzerland, ready for this technology?
Definitely. Germany is an industrial powerhouse. Due to a lack of natural resources, we rely on know-how and the highest efficiency – and the corresponding cost pressure and competition make sheet metal manufacturing highly receptive to software solutions and a driver for advancements. That’s why Lantek pays great attention to the German market – and especially to the impulses and development suggestions of our customers.
A positive development is the establishment of a dealer network. For example, in Austria, we have someone who speaks the local dialect and understands the mindset of the people: our sales partner Rene Gruber from SALZIT. Similarly close to the customer are our colleague Jelle van Harsselaar at CNC Gear in the Netherlands and our new sales partner Hannes Andresen from Shira MediTec in northern Germany. Thus, we have established a very strong and intact ecosystem around Lantek. And our latest development, the cloud-based platform Lantek 360, was designed so that engineering offices like Rene Gruber’s can develop their solutions on it, expanding Lantek’s solution portfolio – for the benefit of the customer.