by Klaus Eichler, Editor

With this slogan all companies of the Glatt Group presented themselves on more than 1000 m2 at this year’s Achema. The major part of the Glatt exhibition area was used to present up-to-date Glatt brand processing and handling equipment for the powder processing industries. The other companies under individual company names, offering various services could of course not display voluminous items, but illustrated their activities with small, but typical exhibits: ADD, IPC and Hollomet presenting product samples, Pharmatronic a selection of their hi-tech instruments and TTC their forthcoming technology workshops.

An impressive crowd of visitors occupied our stand from the first day onwards. From customer feedback received so far, presenting our products and services from all companies of our group, as such visually underlining the synergies was much appreciated, which will obviously prove to be equally beneficial for our customers as for ourselves. Many a customer had so far not realized that the entire spectrum from product development up to green-field turn-key engineering is supplied by the Glatt family, in word’s and in the metaphorical sense.

More than 80 qualified Glatt employees ascertained that every visitor was promptly served and received all required information in verbal or written form. Customers were pleased to meet Glatt staff, whom they had never personally met before, but with whom they had friendly contact for quite some time. The pleasure was of course mutual.

A special highlight and novelty was “Werner’s Bar”, an upstairs lounge where customers could retreat for a more detailed discussion, check their e-mails or just rest their feet for a while, and where gourmet snacks were served by professional staff. Every evening, after the Achema closed its doors, the “happy hour” with live entertainment took place in “Werner’s Bar” crowding it even more than during the day. The following pages will provide plenty of evidence. On the first evening, the Binzen Night, the famous “Glatt- Aperitif” was served and a carnival band “Guggenmusik” caused for ringing eardrums. The Oriental Night on the second evening, with raki and ravishing belly dancers. The next evening, a reference to times when men were men was spent with a proper dram, country songs and entertaining dance ladies. The final evening, the Latin Night a mainly male crowd enjoyed the dainty combination of caipirinha and samba girls.

The happy hours obviously serve their purpose well: Giving people a chance to relax after a long and tiring day full of technical and commercial discussions, to have a drink, relax and find suitable company for subsequent dinner in accordance to personal or national preferences. In the end, daytime and early evening communications served the same function: Improve mutual understanding and friendliness in our everyday dealings and the appreciation that we are all only employees and that business with a smile is rewarding for all .