“I joined the company as a young project engineer; up until that time I had gathered experience at traditional mechanical engineering firms. Working at a Japanese-German commercial enterprise was a completely new experience for me. The idea of expanding our small company in Europe and becoming a part of something larger that was just developing always hovered over us and influenced everything we did. There was a kind of pioneering spirit, where everybody did everything – but with a certain order. 

Back then, my department did not exist in its present form. It was established only later. Meanwhile we have increased our revenue more than twentyfold and have business relations in every European country, as well as Russia and Africa. In addition to Sales, our motivated employees helped us develop the departments of Marketing, Customer Service and Application Engineering.

The decision of the Japanese parent company to appoint a German management team was a driving force on the path of expansion. In 2013 we actively started to build gearboxes in Germany. Meanwhile we produce more than 2,500 gearboxes in Düsseldorf per year, and another 1,100,000 in Japan. 

There have been many noteworthy experiences over the years. Above all, I have vivid memories of the tsunami, and the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011. Although Nabtesco was not affected directly, we felt the effects in our supplier network. At that time, we worked well into the evenings and also weekends. We did everything possible to ensure that our customers could keep their production processes running, and we were successful. That time forged bonds between us.

For the future I wish us good fortune, continued success and that we retain the “nosiness” that drives us onward. I also wish Nabtesco profitable growth, in order to give our employees and their families security and stability.”

Daniel Obladen, Head of Sales General Industries 
At Nabtesco since November 2007