"Customer expectations toward service are evolving significantly!"

“From your discussions at Techtextil and INDEX, what are the most significant shifts in customer expectations when it comes to service, and how should ANDRITZ respond to stay ahead?”

“At both Techtextil and INDEX, it became very clear that customer expectations toward service are evolving significantly. Service is no longer seen as a reactive support function only — customers increasingly expect a proactive, value-adding partnership across the full lifecycle of their lines. They are looking for faster response times, more preventive support, stronger technical advisory capabilities, and solutions that help them maximize uptime, product quality, and operational efficiency.

Another important shift is that customers want service to be more tailored to their specific production environment. Standard offerings remain important, but what really creates value today is the ability to combine technical expertise, local presence, and long-term process understanding. For ANDRITZ, this means continuing to strengthen our service portfolio in a way that is both more predictive and more customer-centric. 

We need to stay close to our customers, understand their operational challenges in detail, and translate that into smart service solutions that support performance, reliability, and competitiveness.”

“Which service-related opportunities stood out most during the trade shows — whether in digital services, lifecycle support, or performance optimization — and where do you see the highest growth potential?”

“One of the strongest opportunities we observed is clearly in lifecycle support and performance optimization. Across many customer discussions — particularly in Europe, Turkey, and India, there is strong demand to improve productivity and extend the lifetime of installed lines such as needlepunch, spunlace, and wetlaid/Wetlace systems, without major new investments.

This opens significant potential for ANDRITZ upgrades and retrofits, for example on systems like the X-Pro crosslapper or targeted improvements on complete neXline installations. Customers are very interested in solutions that can boost capacity, improve web uniformity, or reduce energy consumption with limited downtime.

In parallel, in regions like North America and parts of Asia, we see a growing openness toward digital services and Metris solutions, especially when they are directly linked to measurable KPIs like uptime or maintenance efficiency.

Overall, the biggest growth potential lies in combining process expertise with advanced service solutions, helping customers optimize entire production lines, from fiber preparation to drying technologies such as neXdry, and ensuring long-term performance. This is where ANDRITZ can clearly differentiate and create value.”

“How is the competitive landscape in nonwoven service evolving, and what risks do you see for ANDRITZ if service offerings are not further differentiated?”

“The competitive landscape is becoming more dynamic, and this was very visible at both trade shows. Service is now a key differentiator across all major markets, especially in Europe and China, where customers operate highly competitive, large-scale production lines, and expect immediate, high-level support.

We see that customers are no longer comparing only equipment performance, for example on spunlace or needlepunch lines, but also the capability of the supplier to support them throughout the lifecycle. That includes everything from spare parts and upgrades for components like the X-Pro crosslapper, to advanced troubleshooting and process optimization.

The risk, if service offerings are not continuously differentiated, is that they become too transactional. In more price-sensitive regions like India or Southeast Asia, this could quickly lead to service being compared purely on cost, rather than value.

For ANDRITZ, differentiation means leveraging our full technology portfolio, from complete ANDRITZ neXline solutions to digital Metris services, and combining that with strong local presence. Customers in countries like Turkey, Brazil, or the US clearly value fast response times, local expertise, and direct access to OEM knowledge.

Ultimately, our strength lies in connecting deep process understanding with strong service execution. This is what allows us to move beyond standard service and position ourselves as a true performance partner.”

“To what extent did digital solutions, such as predictive maintenance or data-driven services, influence customer conversations — and what opportunities and challenges do they create for our service portfolio?”

“Digitalization was definitely a recurring topic in many discussions, but what stood out is that customers are becoming more selective and pragmatic. They are interested in predictive maintenance, remote support, monitoring solutions, and data-driven insights, but only if these solutions are easy to use, reliable, and clearly linked to operational benefits.

That creates a strong opportunity for our service portfolio. Smart services can help customers improve transparency, reduce risk, and make maintenance more efficient. They can also help strengthen collaboration between customer teams and our service experts by creating a more continuous and informed support model.

At the same time, there are also challenges. Adoption depends on trust, system compatibility, internal customer capabilities, and data security considerations. So the opportunity is not simply to offer more digital tools, but to integrate them into service concepts that are practical, scalable, and customer-specific. In my view, the winning approach is to combine digital capabilities with strong human expertise because technology is most valuable when it supports better decisions and faster action.”

“To what extent did digital solutions, such as predictive maintenance or data-driven services, influence customer conversations — and what opportunities and challenges do they create for our service portfolio?”

“Digitalization was definitely a recurring topic in many discussions, but what stood out is that customers are becoming more selective and pragmatic. They are interested in predictive maintenance, remote support, monitoring solutions, and data-driven insights, but only if these solutions are easy to use, reliable, and clearly linked to operational benefits.

That creates a strong opportunity for our service portfolio. Smart services can help customers improve transparency, reduce risk, and make maintenance more efficient. They can also help strengthen collaboration between customer teams and our service experts by creating a more continuous and informed support model.

At the same time, there are also challenges. Adoption depends on trust, system compatibility, internal customer capabilities, and data security considerations. So the opportunity is not simply to offer more digital tools, but to integrate them into service concepts that are practical, scalable, and customer-specific. In my view, the winning approach is to combine digital capabilities with strong human expertise because technology is most valuable when it supports better decisions and faster action.”