Hello, I’m Fred Bentley, President and COO of Hayes Lemmerz International.
Isabelle Bailly, President of SNECI, recently asked me to spend a few minutes talking about the relationship we have together. This is a relationship that has worked well for over 17 years, and it is a pleasure for me to talk about our great relationship together.
There are four things that I think about when working with SNECI.
The first thing is trust – trust with the brand name, Hayes Lemmerz.
The second is commitment – the commitment we both have to growing our business.
Third is access to our French customer base.
And fourth is the unique value proposition that SNECI offers to Hayes.
Trust is very important to me. It is very important to our company. We give SNECI access to our most valuable asset, the brand name Hayes Lemmerz. Hayes has been around for over 100 years. It’s the definitive world leader in wheel manufacturing. SNECI has also been around for multiple generations. They understand the importance of a brand name. They understand our history, and they respect this. It allows them to provide the right message to our customer base. As a matter of fact, they have been instrumental in helping sell our latest technology, Versastyle, to our French customers. This is something that provides great value to our customer and gives them leading edge technology. SNECI has done a great job in selling that.
Commitment is very important – commitment to growing both of our businesses, and SNECI is committed to doing so. They handle all issues. They don’t draw a line between what is their business problem and what is a Hayes Lemmerz problem. They are part of our team. I count on them for this. It makes them different.
They also provide unique access to our French customers. This has been developed over long term relationships with all of our customers. They get us to the right people at all levels of the organizations and in all functions. It’s not easy to replicate their relationships, and it is a strength that they have. They make sure that we have strong local support. When you combine this support with our global presence, it is a truly a winning combination.
Finally, they provide a unique value proposition. They take what is traditionally a fixed cost and make it one that flexes. When they win, we win. This works well for all of us, and it is a great model. SNECI again provides us a relationship based on trust – trust with our most valuable asset, the Hayes Lemmerz name, and commitment to growing both of our businesses. They give us great access to the customer base in France, and they provide a positive value proposition. I appreciate our long term relationship. I truly value SNECI as a partner to the Hayes Lemmerz business, and I appreciate their ongoing support.
Thank you.
