[European Atlas] “Investment must be channelled into telematics”

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Zepros : What’s the latest news at ATR?
Roland Dilmetz: On 1 January 2019, Wolfgang Menges and Stephan Bens will become board members of the inter- national distribution group. As for me, I was reappointed managing director during the summer, and I will remain in the position until I retire, which is planned for the end of 2019. On this date, they will take over the management which will then become a dual leadership. We felt it necessary to appoint two people to the function because as tasks become more complex, you need to specialise. Consequently, Wolfgang Menges, who has been at ATR for 20 years, will retain responsibility for purchasing and will also supervise finance and IT. Stephan Bens comes to us from Carat (AD Germany) and will join us on 1 January as director of marketing and digitalisation.
Have you “conquered” any new markets this year?R. D.: No, but very soon we should become established on the large Asian markets – India, China, Japan – where we are currently looking for new members. The same thing in South America, where we are only represented in Brazil, Colombia and Panama. These are all interesting expanding markets.
What are your major projects for the future? R. D.: Investment must be channelled into telematics today. We can sense that there are substantial differences between companies. Some groups devote considerable human and financial resources to the area, whereas others are only in their earliest stages. Our organisation has set up working groups to pool our knowledge in ATI.
Caruso, Carmunication : isn’t there one neutral platform too many?R. D.: For the past year I have been making the point that should be pooling our energies. There is no fight between Caruso and Carmunication. I also think that Figiefa and Clepa should work better together. If they can’t get on with each other, then we have no chance! Because if you look at the current state of play, the amount of open data made available by automakers is ridiculously small in relation to what we actually need. We will only reach this goal with the help of manufacturers. That’s why the independent aftermarket businesses must have a joint stance. It makes no sense to see Caruso and Carmunication having different political approaches. It opens up the prospects of other organisations acting in the same way!
The problem lies in the fact that the manufacturers who deliver to the IAM are also suppliers to OE... R. D.: That’s perfectly true. But some of our suppliers shouldn’t forget the OE crisis in 2007-8, and the role that the aftersales business played in pulling them through the sticky patch. We provided our suppliers with stability and profit. But when OE is doing well, they seem to forget about that.
Caroline Ridet