The blessing of being world market leader

Tino Petsch

In 15 years, two small offices and six employees have grown into a globally active company with three building complexes, over 190 employees and an annual turnover of 30 million euros. When Tino Petsch founded 3D-Micromac 15 years ago together with five employees, he had no idea what success lay ahead of him with the mechanical engineering company specialising in laser micromachining. We spoke to Tino Petsch shortly before his 15th company anniversary.

From start-up to international technology leader - if you recapitulate the 15 years: Are you surprised that it has worked out this way or are you just incredibly proud?
Tino Petsch: I wouldn't describe it as a surprise. Above all, it's hard work and a few lucky circumstances. We knew we were good. But we didn't realise at the beginning that we had worked our way up to where we are today in 15 years.
I had already worked with the five people who started here with me in my previous company. Back then, we saw an opportunity for the future in microtechnology, i.e. working in the micrometre range, but were unable to realise it. That's why I founded a new company - 3D-Micromac. We are therefore not a classic start-up that emerged from university. I had already had companies since 1990, which I then sold again. So by the time 3D-Micromac was founded, I already had a certain amount of experience.

Can you briefly describe what you do?
3D-Micromac develops innovative machines for laser micromachining, for example for medical or solar technology and the optics industry. In medical technology, our machines are used to process ear implants that are implanted in the skull and enable deaf people to hear again. Other customers use our machines to manufacture corneal implants for human eyes. These can be used to correct visual defects. Together with our partner, we have developed the technology for manufacturing the implants. Our partner takes care of the medical authorisation and distributes the laser systems.

Who are your customers?
Our customers include 80 per cent of all contact lens and spectacle lens manufacturers worldwide. These include companies such as Zeiss and Rodenstock. In the solar industry, semiconductor manufacturing and medical technology, our customers include major global players with production facilities from North America to Europe and Asia.

Global market leader in future-oriented industries - a blessing or a curse for you?
I see it more as a blessing because new markets are constantly opening up. The competition with China, which sells machines at our manufacturer's price, is there. But we are always developing something new. When they have copied us, we bring a machine with twice the throughput onto the market. That's the added value we offer here in Europe: new technologies in a shorter time.

Are customers surprised that 3D-Micromac is based in Chemnitz?
Yes and no. Our customer base doesn't care where exactly the company is located in Germany. Nobody in China knows Chemnitz, maybe Berlin, Heidelberg and Munich. It's enough to tell them that Chemnitz is between Berlin and Munich. In Japan, they don't know that Chemnitz is near Dresden. But if you mention Meissen, they know it. It is a cult site for the Japanese and they have a great deal of respect for it.

What image do your guests who visit you have of the city?
Our guests' image of Chemnitz is positive. A city of this size and with so much to offer is surprising. The Americans describe an old town as such when it is 20 or 30 years old. With us, they simply see much more history.
We don't want or need to compare ourselves with other cities. We are an industrial city and have made some great inventions here. I always show this to my guests: steam locomotive history, textile machine construction and the automotive industry. We can definitely sell what we have here to the outside world. We have nothing to hide.

It's unfortunate that global players like you are much better known in the professional world than at home. Can that be changed?
I think it needs to be changed because our city lives from small and medium-sized companies. The many different industries and trades make up the city.

Everyone here knows international brands like SIEMENS or VW. But they also communicate with the end consumer, with the general population. If we advertise in the city - who are we supposed to sell something to here? We hardly find any customers in Germany or Europe, let alone that anyone here in Chemnitz can do anything with us. That's also the reason why there are so many hidden champions (editor's note: small companies that are internationally successful but relatively unknown). It simply has to do with the fact that the product range is very specialised and in many cases not of interest to the general public.

Tino Petsch: We still try to draw attention to ourselves here. Not so much to find customers, but to attract new employees. For example, we are opening our doors for the fourth time as part of the Days of Industrial Culture on 22 September 2017 and offering guided tours of our production facilities.

How are you specifically tackling the problem of a shortage of skilled labour?
That is indeed an issue. Applicants are becoming more and more demanding. I don't think it's primarily down to the salary. I think the overall package has to be right. This includes: flexible working hours, the fun factor, creative freedom for employees and self-realisation within the company.
At 3D-Micromac we have an open corporate culture, we are all on first-name terms. In our opinion, being a boss is not primarily about hierarchy or being on first-name terms. A managerial role depends above all on expertise and experience. With an average age of 35, we are very young for the classic mechanical engineering sector. In this sector, we are normally talking about an average age of 45 across Germany. However, if you look at start-ups fresh out of university, the average age of employees is 25.

In 2009, 3D-Micromac moved into one of the first buildings on the newly constructed technology campus, also known as the SmartSystem Campus, in the immediate vicinity of the TU. The company now has three sites on the spacious 4.5-hectare technology park. It connects research institutions, companies and start-ups via short, direct routes. "The proximity to the university and Fraunhofer is great," says Tino Petsch, explaining the move to the campus in 2009 from the previous location in the Technologie Centrum Chemnitz (TCC) on Annaberger Straße. The concept was designed in 2003. "The idea of bringing everything together in one place around the university is great. Chemnitz University of Technology, which is responsible for the fundamentals, the Fraunhofer Institutes for applied research and the companies for the transfer to industry and research. We really liked that. In addition to the three locations, we now have the option of a fourth site, so we have enough room for expansion."

What advice do you have for all the start-ups that are currently being founded or have already been founded?
I think it's important to maintain a high degree of independence for as long as possible. Then you have the best possible chance of realising your own vision. The growth may not be quite as great, but you can determine a lot more. I believe that if you work with investors early on, you will only end up owning five or ten per cent of your own company. Then other people will tell you what to do. I think you have less fun because you can no longer realise yourself.

Have you ever thought about going public?
We have certainly thought about it, but it's not an option for us. Today, you have to have a turnover in the region of 200 million euros to have a halfway decent position there. We don't want to be a plaything for some gambler.

Social commitment - supporting kindergartens and sports clubs. Where does this commitment to Chemnitz come from?
I believe that you have to give something back if you get something and are successful with it. You feel a social obligation, both to the region where the company is based and to the regions where you have business relationships. When the tsunami hit Japan, we spontaneously decided among our employees to make a donation. Some with money, others with overtime, which was then converted into a sum of money. 3D-Micromac doubled the money collected from the employees. We sent this amount directly to our representative in Japan, who was able to help locally.
For us, sponsoring sport in Chemnitz is less about expecting a commercial advantage. We often support clubs where our employees' children are involved or where an employee is a coach. We prefer to support many small things rather than putting all our eggs in one basket.
We wanted to take a different approach when supporting kindergartens. All the sponsors and youth development programmes focus on pupils and students. So we said, anyone can do that, we'll come up with something new. We start very early and introduce children to technology and get them excited about micro.

In 2012, you were named "Saxony's Entrepreneur of the Year" and honoured with the "The Dreamer" trophy. What does this award mean to you?
Quite a lot. There are a very small number of award winners. It recognises what we have achieved with the company and what we will achieve in the future. That we are innovative, technology leaders, open to the world, that we also go different ways and try out new things.

Where do you see your company and the city in 2025?
3D-Micromac will definitely still be around. We will continue to have our information and development centre in Chemnitz and manufacture innovative products. Our activities abroad will certainly increase. We could perhaps double our turnover again or even achieve a three-digit million turnover. That's where we want to be - a global player and continue to be the technology and market leader in our target markets.
Where do we see our city? I don't believe that the average age will change as dramatically as the statistics predict. We will have a lot of students at the university, which will push the average down considerably. The existing infrastructure also speaks against this. We have numerous companies in the city. They need employees. Employees are now coming to Chemnitz from much greater distances. That shows that the city and its companies are attractive.