Insight

Based in the Czech Republic, WT Wintech is a supplier of standard and customised products to drawings for the construction, engineering, electrical and automotive sectors.

With a modern storage facility that has a capacity of 6,350 pallet spaces, WT Wintech can provide customers with a reliable and consistent delivery service for a wide range of products, such as wood screws, sheet metal screws, hexagon head screws, hexagon socket screws, nuts, threaded rods, rivets, washers, anchoring and fastening elements, plastic caps, as well as tools and accessories.

“After thirty-years of development we are able to offer so many solutions that are range has been divided into separate divisions – standardised and custom parts, parts according to drawings for automotive and electrical engineering, and finally aluminium construction for the building sector – for which we have some internal production,” explains WT Wintech.

For each division there is also a full commitment to quality. “From the very beginning, we implemented a thorough quality control of products and all processes,” points out WT Wintech. “This allowed us to develop quickl with our supplier partners and work in cooperation with even the most demanding customers, such as the automotive industry.”

To go alongside the product quality, WT Wintech has also created a customer support network that ensures a reactive service – with the help of a modern ERP system. “We have a team of product managers who provide support to our sales representatives, who are in contact with our customers,” highlights WT Wintech. “This means that if customers have any requests or need help, our product managers can offer advice and possible solutions.”

After thirty years of steadily growing its product range and services, everything changed in 2020 when the company had to react to a host of new challenges, such as Covid-19, sea freight issues, as well as increases in various prices for raw materials, energy, labour, etc. “As a business we reacted responsibly to each situation and kept close communication with our customers,” reports WT Wintech. “The vigorous increase of shipping costs, and the increase of transport time, completely changed the work of logistics and created a big pressure on our business team. We therefore created an internal department for sea and air transport, which continues to monitor the situation, and communicates with the business team to solve any problems.”

With Covid-19 rates rising in Asia, and lockdowns still happening, this is causing even more complications with sea freight. “The current situation shows that things are not improving and we don’t expect the situation to get better until the end of the year at the earliest.”

However, thanks to its warehouse stock, WT Wintech has been able to handle the majority of issues, including the increases in material and shipping costs – with the company gradually passing on increases to customers only when necessary. “We have long-term relationships with our suppliers, and customers, and we keep in close communication regarding the situation as it evolves,” states WT Wintech. “This has helped us to manage the situation, even if it has led to  slightly lower profitability – especially with some projects in the automotive industry.”

These changes in the market have also brought new demands and communication challenges. “Whilst it has been a very challenging period it has also been a valued experience,” comments WT Wintech. “The last two years have shown that digitisation, especially when it comes to online connections with business partners, is of vital importance. To ensure we remain a long-term stable and high-quality business partner we plan to expand our capacity and to further automate our logistic processes. This includes a new multilingual e-shop for international business partners, as well as more package variants for our products.”

The company is also still focused on its long-term collective vision, which is to supply high-quality products supported by a broad selection of services for both its Czech and foreign customers. “Our investments will focus on the development of our logistics facility, production, quality control and to how we make power savings – using the newest technological and environmental trends,” explains Wintech. “However, our main driving force for the development of our company is the employees. That is why we are constantly looking at ways we can improve working conditions, offer training opportunities, and provide clear corporate communication on our long-term goals. These are everyday investments that we can make to help grow the business.”