Ladies and Gentlemen,
The whole world is talking about the economic and financial crisis.
Even though there are some signs for cautious optimism, people are still worried about a possible future downward trend. However, do we really have to be anxious? Was what happened really a crisis? Of course, that depends on the definition of the word “crisis”, and certainly the speed of the decline in demand in railway transport was extraordinarily high.
I dare, nevertheless, to suggest that although it was admittedly a very large quantitative change - a qualitative change of the transport market, in which the strengths and weaknesses of the individual public transport departments moved against each other, essentially did not take place.
Were we not thus no longer accustomed to react to changes appropriately and rapidly?
Which abilities do we actually need, in order to offer in all demand situations
high-quality and inexpensive products and services and to obtain on a long-term basis economically viable business results at the same time?
These questions drive many entrepreneurs and managers of our industry at present.
The answers to it do not lie very far at all, but to find them however, requires some virtues which are no longer natural today. These are care and thought, concentration on the essentials and the determination to maintain sustainability as well as flexibility, innovative thinking and confidence in our own energy - not only in management, but on all levels of the company.
However, it is most important to have good trustworthy partners who will work together in problem solving and everyone should also send out the message that they justify the confidence they receive.
No- one can exist alone in our globalised world of complex performance and delivery chains. Mutual reliability is the guarantor for the fact that we together help rail transport to an increasing market share, so that we also effectively secure our own businesses. Let us make it work together.
Sincerely yours
Wolfgang Rösch
On the occasion of the InnoTrans 2010
The whole world is talking about the economic and financial crisis.
Even though there are some signs for cautious optimism, people are still worried about a possible future downward trend. However, do we really have to be anxious? Was what happened really a crisis? Of course, that depends on the definition of the word “crisis”, and certainly the speed of the decline in demand in railway transport was extraordinarily high.
I dare, nevertheless, to suggest that although it was admittedly a very large quantitative change - a qualitative change of the transport market, in which the strengths and weaknesses of the individual public transport departments moved against each other, essentially did not take place.
Were we not thus no longer accustomed to react to changes appropriately and rapidly?
Which abilities do we actually need, in order to offer in all demand situations
high-quality and inexpensive products and services and to obtain on a long-term basis economically viable business results at the same time?
These questions drive many entrepreneurs and managers of our industry at present.
The answers to it do not lie very far at all, but to find them however, requires some virtues which are no longer natural today. These are care and thought, concentration on the essentials and the determination to maintain sustainability as well as flexibility, innovative thinking and confidence in our own energy - not only in management, but on all levels of the company.
However, it is most important to have good trustworthy partners who will work together in problem solving and everyone should also send out the message that they justify the confidence they receive.
No- one can exist alone in our globalised world of complex performance and delivery chains. Mutual reliability is the guarantor for the fact that we together help rail transport to an increasing market share, so that we also effectively secure our own businesses. Let us make it work together.
Sincerely yours
Wolfgang Rösch
On the occasion of the InnoTrans 2010