From apprentice to manager
The euro is on the verge of being introduced, with just five million Germans having Internet access: There was a lot going on in 1998, when Bastian Lohmann started his training as an industrial clerk at wedi. Today, he is Vice President Sales & Marketing at wedi Corp. USA and co-responsible for the development of our geographically largest single market. From apprentice to manager: Bastian's story shows that commitment and courage pay off at wedi.
From Germany to the USA
How did it all start? During his training at wedi, Bastian "got a taste of" what was then the object department, which was responsible for application technology and customer training. He still likes to look back on this time: "It was great and I really enjoyed it, so I liked to stay in this area." Bastian had a good command of English as a high school graduate. This was also discovered by his head of department at the time – and Bastian already had the English-language training courses for the European foreign countries on the table. The strong growth of wedi throughout Europe led Bastian to Eastern Europe in the coming years: "Again, I was able to use my good English skills and learned what our customers are interested in through the project business and especially on site on the construction sites. At that time I specialized in the area of steam baths & wellness. That was new ground for wedi at the time," he recalls.
In 2004 a call came from the then export manager, who changed his life and led him to the USA. The conversation began with a simple question:
"What are you doing next week?"
It was a question of whether Bastian could imagine going to America and expanding the US business. He could – and just a few days later he sat on the plane and crossed the Atlantic. At that time, wedi was still at the beginning in the USA, Bastian recalls: "I should start as a Technical Sales Manager, support salespeople and customers, and give impetus to how the product range can be adapted to North American requirements."
After an intensive training period on site, it went into the full, and in the truest sense of the word: "We realized that we had to switch our marketing to processor training. And we introduced many innovative new products to the US market in 2005 and 2006." Bastian then spent years on the road with his tools, practically lived "out of the trunk" and demonstrated the advantages of wedi in countless training sessions. "During this time, I learned from the ground up how the US market ticks," Bastian reports. His Large Insert and the innumerable miles on the speedometer paid off: First wholesalers began to list and successfully sell wedi Products. Customers particularly appreciate the high degree of prefabrication of smart system solutions in the economically strong north of the USA and in Canada.
"From 2018 we started to produce in the USA," says Bastian. Today, wedi has around 100 employees and a production site in Batavia (Illinois), where 2/3 of the products for the USA are produced. As Vice President Sales & Marketing, Bastian covers a wide range of tasks and now has Sebastian Wedig, who is responsible for the operational area, at his side. Hard to believe, but true: Sebastian Wedig also originally came from Münsterland, but the contact with wedi was only established locally in the USA.
Trust was the key to success
For Bastian, on his journey from apprentice to manager, the USA was actually "a country of unlimited opportunities." But he also says that this development would not have been possible without a strong advance of confidence. He appreciates this culture of demand and promotion at wedi, then as now. This also applies to the support of today's wedi CEO Fabian Rechlin: "He helped me build the organization in the US. He is good at dealing with people. I learned from him how to cope with challenging situations."
Good chances for Germans in the USA
And today, after almost 20 years in the USA? "The combination of 'Made in USA' products and 'Made in Germany' engineering is what wedi stands for in the USA and enjoys a high reputation among our customers," says Bastian. He experiences the Americans as very friendly and open-minded toward Germans. And he finds it great that every year two trainees from Emsdetten board the plane to work for a few weeks at the US site. His advice to young people: "Just try it, you can only win - seize the chances when they offer themselves!" As he himself did after the surprising call 20 years ago.