40 years ago, Wolfgang M. Rauch, Managing Director of Harro Höfliger Packaging Systems Ltd., met Harro Höfliger for the first time. Mutually simpatico from the beginning, a friendship developed, and a last-minute action turned into a successful business relationship.
Wolfgang Rauch does not make any promises he cannot keep. When the whisky distillery Drambuie wanted to commission a packaging machine in 1976, he declined, because he could not promise the desired delivery date. His frankness paid off: The customer decided, after a quick side-trip to the competition, to order the machine from Rauch’s former employer anyway. A colleague in Germany advised to get in touch with Harro Höfliger, who might be able to help with this short-term order.
“I called and visited him together with my customer shortly thereafter,” says Wolfgang Rauch. “At that time, Harro did not have an office yet. We discussed all the important points in a restaurant, and then he showed us the area in his car until it was time for the return flight.” arro Höfliger had eight weeks to build the machine. If he succeeded, he would receive a bonus of 15 percent of the purchase price. Of course, he succeeded. “Even if the last assembly work took place on the truck that the customer had sent to pick up the machine,” Rauch says, laughing. “I really appreciate this in Harro – and it is something we have in common: We never give up.”
This anecdote is a prelude to a partnership that has proved highly successful over the years, both on a private level and in business. On the advice of Harro Höfliger, Wolfgang Rauch founded his own company in 1981. Raupack Ltd., headquartered in Old Woking near London, initially operating as a representative for several manufacturers, and the very first order completed together with Harro Höfliger was a resounding success. Chivas Regal ordered a labeling machine with an erector feature as well as the conversion of a cartoning machine, and ultimately bought a special system without having seen a reference or demonstration machine.
The successfully completed projects of Wolfgang Rauch and Harro Höfliger include the assembly of syringes. This led to the team’s establishment in the British pharmaceutical market.
The tandem team Raupack Ltd. and Harro Höfliger GmbH made a name for themselves in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as problem solvers for complex projects and development projects in the food sector, in the pharmaceutical industry and in medical technology.Wolfgang Rauch is continuously expanding his sales team. Since November 2012, Raupack Ltd. has been a 100 percent subsidiary of Harro Höfliger Verpackungsmaschinen GmbH. The sales and service branch with 14 mostly long-term employees under the leadership of Wolfgang Rauch, is responsible for several business sectors in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Rauch is satisfied with his career: “For me, the purpose of work is to make a living, but also to find fulfillment – and I always did and still do.” He is also very proud of his employees: “Usually I only act as a kind of flipper. I start the ball rolling and give it direction. I do not believe in excessive control. Anyone who wants to work independently, should be left to do so.” Asked about the joint recipe for success, Wolfgang Rauch says: “Harro and I have never succumbed to resistance. Our customers feel that they have partners who are trying hard, who can admit when something is not working as originally thought, but always find ways to complete an order.”
Although his centre of life is in the UK, Wolfgang Rauch regularly travels to the Harro Höfliger headquarters in Allmersbach im Tal. Every now and then there is still time left after work to indulge in a common passion with Harro Höfliger: Vintage cars. They started the collection together and to this day, the entire respectable fleet of historic treasures from Germany and the UK is parked in one garage. “We complement each other in many ways,” says Rauch, laughing.
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Photos: Janine Kyofsky, Harro Höfliger, dies-irae/iStockphoto.com