It is the people who have made the WILD Group what it is today and what it will be in the future, stress the three Managing Directors Josef Hackl, Wolfgang Warum and Michael Wratschko.

As longstanding companions and pivotal figures in the company‘s history, CEO Josef Hackl, CTO Wolfgang Warum and CFO Michael Wratschko talk on the 50th anniversary of the Group about their first contact with WILD, about crisis situations and important lessons learned, as well as their confidence with regard to the years ahead.

What is the first memory you associate with WILD?

Michael Wratschko: ”I am probably one of the few who look back and recall an image of the company that has absolutely
nothing to do with today‘s situation. When I joined WILD back in 1997, we were in a restructuring phase, in the midst of a radical change. Times were very hard back then. Today, on the other hand, we are extremely well-positioned in all areas and we can be proud of our achievements and our economic success.“

Wolfgang Warum: ”My first contact with the company came about through microscopes made by WILD Heerbrugg, which we used in the development laboratory of my employer at the time. As a founding member of WILD Electronics, I was deeply involved in the development of the Wernberg site, which made a significant contribution to the expansion of the WILD Group‘s technology base.“

When you look back, what have been the most important milestones in the history of WILD?

Michael Wratschko: ”I would sum it up as follows: The first decade was about learning how high-tech production works and how you achieve Swiss precision. In the early 1980s, the wage cost advantage was diminishing for the Swiss parent company. This caused the first crisis, which the company was still able to overcome on its own together with Leica. From there on, the focus was on acquiring new customers. That went well until 1994/1995. The share of the overall business with the parent company, however, did not diminish significantly as a result. There was a second crisis, which the company was no longer able to manage alone. The change of ownership finally brought a decisive change in strategy – moving away from being a component manufacturer and towards becoming a full-service provider. That decision has proven to be absolutely right up to this day.“ 

How was WILD able to maintain its lead in so many different areas of technology for decades?

Wolfgang Warum: ”Anyone can buy machines but unique expertise in the complex technology field of optomechatronics can only be developed with great effort and over a long period of time. It is precisely this technological edge of our staff that makes a difference in the market. Now the time has come to pass on 50 years of know-how to the next generation.“ 

What would you say are WILD Group‘s most important strengths today?

Josef Hackl: ”We listen very carefully to our customers, define the right setup from our service portfolio for them and we reliably deliver what we have agreed with them.“

What can the staff members of the WILD Group be particularly proud of?

Josef Hackl: ”That our customers still fully rely on our services even during the coronavirus crisis, in which many of them are faced with a significantly weaker demand. The WILD staff continue to seamlessly provide information and products to our customers, further strengthening the great confidence they have in us.“

Will WILD continue to be an innovative market leader in international competition even in the year 2030?

Josef Hackl: ”I am confident that we will play an even more integrated role with many of our customers as a most trusted partner“. 

Wolfgang Warum: ”The market of the future will still have a demand for partners who offer holistic solutions and not just individual work steps. We will flexibly and proactively find the right answers to the strong technological challenges, without
fear of change.“