5. What do you see for yourself and what challenges are you prepared to take on over the next 5 years? Having only just moved to the US I am enjoying getting to know and understand a new market, meeting new friends and business partners. I am excited to explore the US and all it has to offer. 6. As an industry leader, what responsibility do you have as it relates to set- ting the tone and goals for the manufacturing of equipment? Maybe combine this question with my answer to question 4? 7. What changes in equipment in design and technology over the next sev-
eral years do you envision? See answer to question 3 8.
SIMON LOHSE EXEC V.P. N.A.
How has the supply chain compromised the RATIONAL companies abil- ity to remain on schedule to deliver equipment consistent with customer demand? It is a challenge for us all in the current supply chain environment. At the same time as the supply chain disruptions we have seen record demand for our products which inevitably has lead to longer leadtimes that normal. Throughout this period we have worked hard to give accurate and factual information to our partners regarding product availalbility even though the situation remains dynamic. I am pleased that our factories have not stopped production throughout this period. We have successfully secured supplies of all components and raw materials necessary to continue production although, as for everyone, the supply of electronic boards has been compromised. Nevertheless we have more than 2200 units pre-assembled in our US warehouse. As electronic boards become available we complete these units and release them for immediate ship- ment to our customers. In April alone we will complete over 1000 units for the US and Canadian markets. 9. Has the shortage of workers and work ethic of the day, impacted your company’s ability to grow and deliver service as a result of the pandemic. The skill shortage and labor shortage impacts all of us in all industries. At RATIONAL our ethos is to support our employees, this was a key strategy in our business also during the pandemic. As a result we retained the majority of our staff and were able to maintain support to our partners and end user customers throughout the pandemic. 10. Has the pandemic changed the trajectory of the RATIONAL COMPANY, and if so, how? Our commitment remains, as before Covid, to offer maximum customer benefit to end users through strong strategic business relationships with our Rep Partners, Dealers and Service Partners. The pandemic has altered customer behaviour and accelerated the need for digital content and engagement in our sales process, I am very proud that we successfully launched two new products through use of digital platforms, webinars and training videos during the pandemic.
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