The motto of the “Annual Meeting” of the “Association of the United States Army” (AUSA) in October was: “America’s Army: The Strength of the Nation.” This was reflected in some way at the stand of Kaercher Futuretech at the military exhibition in the Washing Convention Center which took place at the same time. The team of the two Managing Directors Helmut Stelzmüller and Jens Bauer noted an extremely high visitor frequency on the three exhibition days. “We were able to deepen existing contacts with many important partners”, states Kaercher Futuretech Sales Manager Wolfgang Kliem who had extensive talks with the US Program Managers Rudi Olszyk (decontamination equipment) and LTC Rick Hager (field camp equipment). The large number of intentional visits, on the other hand, underlined the solid position of Kaercher Futuretech on the American market. The result of the cooperation between Kaercher and its strategic partner DRS Technologies can be clearly seen in the excellent progress made in two essential areas – light decontamination equipment and mobile water purification systems, which were both in the centre of interest at the AUSA exhibition.
The importance of this kind of equipment was also confirmed by product manager Dr Patrick Marcus who initiated the development of another fruitful cooperation with representatives of the American “Project Management Petroleum and Water Systems” (PM PAWS) in St Louis in the same week. As a result of further plans, the water expert got the firm indication of the use of additional water bottling systems. At present, such a system is being used by the US armed forces within the “Forward Operation Base Delta” (FOB Delta) close to Al-Kut in Iraq. Up to now, more than 20 million bottles of drinking water have been filled using these systems from Kärcher Futuretech.
The quality of the products and the appreciation shown to Kärcher Futuretech and DRS Technologies by the US government authorities speak for themselves. “The systems are well established on the market. If the projects in the two areas of decontamination and water are successful, this will lead to reinforced potentials in the future”, says Wolfgang Kliem in his description of excellent perspectives for further promising business projects on a mid-term basis. One aim of the company is to achieve a stable turnover on the US market. “This will require full attention on the part of Kärcher Futuretech and its partners”, warns the experienced Sales Manager. “Anyone who believes that this can be achieved with a single stroke of the bat, is misjudging the complicated procurement conditions in the USA.” The brilliant brand appearance at the AUSA can be compared to a “run” at least to the first base.