In the course of a very enjoyable interview with Automobil Industrie I was asked what piece of advice I’d give to those who want to have a career in the automotive sector. “Research, and don’t just look at how things appear to be but look for the true reasons for things” is our solution.
This is how SAPA got to concentrate all the production steps into an all-in-one, One-Shot® method: the world’s fastest Method to produce car parts.
Late evening, right after dinner.
My best friends and I meet whenever possible in a restaurant in the country.
Typical dishes (delicacies of the Benevento area, of course), we chat, we laugh, we enjoy each other’s company. Sometimes you need a break, I’m sure you understand.
The after-dinner liquors are served. This is the moment when you really start to relax.
Mario is sitting next to me; we’ve known each other forever.
“Giovanni, I’ve decided to get a new car. Seriously, I had forgotten how stressful it is to choose one! Listen, how about if I went for a….”, and he suddenly stops.
The expression on his face changes. He looks gloomy.
“My God, Giovanni, you already spend your life thinking about cars. I’m sorry, I don’t want to bore you tonight just when we are relaxing.”
I laughed.
Why?
I know he’s fond of me and his care was sincere but if I can dedicate my life to cars is because…I love them. I love what I do.
Think about it, would you ever get bored of talking about something you love? Can something you love bore you?
Of course, even when we talk about our passions, some conversations can be more interesting than others. More stimulating than others. This is absolutely true.
Maybe the secret lies in creating a friendly and intimate atmosphere. And in talking to somebody that shares the same passion for that topic (or that has an urgent decision to make, like my good friend Mario…).
Just like what happened with the interview that I had the pleasure to have with Automobil Industrie.
Thanks, obviously, to the journalist that interviewed me.
A professional journalist should be informed about what goes on in their sector as much as or even more than those who work in the sector, I’m sure you see what I mean.
After all, if you work for a specialised magazine and that magazine happens to be Automobil Industrie – the long standing German monthly magazine that was first published back in 1955, that’s the way it is: passion for the automotive sector is in your blood.
As it is in mine.
Here is why talking to him and sharing ideas and opinions, trying to imagine the future scenarios of the automotive sector together was a true pleasure.
As you know, what we read on the papers is the summary of what the interviewer and the interviewee really say to each other.
A journalist friend of mine told me that there is one thing that a good reporter must do to obtain a good interview.
What is it? Before actually starting the interview, they must take the time to chat with the interviewee.
In this way, they can collect extra information, create rapport, break the ice and put the interviewee at their ease.
The Germans know this, too, and I can assure you that in the time that preceded the interview itself something happened that made me really glad.
You see, our objective at SAPA is to meet the most urgent needs of the automotive market.
We believe that these needs are reducing waste, emissions and production costs and guaranteeing unlimited productivity without any downtime.
We also know that in order to win over a car maker and convince them to change their habits, you need something exceptional.
Patenting an effective, secure and fast solution that does not pertain just one component but that can be replicated on the entire production chain is what our Innovation Engineering department worked towards.
So, we got to patenting the One-Shot® Method.
My interviewer was curious, and he knew about many of its features. He wanted to understand how we got to patenting the world’s fasted method to produce car parts.
All this gave me additional energy: we are going in the right direction.
When he asked me “What piece of advice would you give to someone who wants to have a career in the automotive sector?” my answer was easy.
“Certainly, don’t just look at how things appear to be on the surface, but always seek the true reasons of things.”
And this is what SAPA did.
The way things appeared was that you necessarily had to produce car parts in several steps, as seemed to be the case with the traditional method and with techniques that had not been updated in decades. And this looked like a kind of an obligation.
By investigating the true reasons of things, we understood that it was possible to compress all the steps in just one, all-in-one method that guarantees:
- SHORTER PRODUCTION TIME
- MORE LIGHTWEIGHT PARTS
- LESS WASTE
- GUARANTEED PERFORMANCE
- AND BETTER BUDGET EFFICIENCY
Over the past years, I could get a clear picture of the kind of person that can fully understand the essence and the positive consequences that opting for the One-Shot® Method brings.
Here is their identity: they have a flexible mindset; they are motivated by the wish to find the best solution before anyone else. In short, they really understood the direction that the automotive market will go in.
You know very well that the traditional method has issues. And inevitably it will keep having issues.
You know what the issues are. It’s problems you have faced and are still facing, problems that annoyed you, stressed you out and caused troubles with your managers.
Problems that tired you out.
You’ve done a lot already, I know.
Believe me, your efforts were not in vain. You did not waste your time.
You are only missing one piece.
The one that is added by the research that SAPA carried out, by the One-Shot® Method.
Sometimes all you need is very little. The right idea, at the right moment, for the right person. That’s really what it is. The idea towards which our engineers worked night and day for weeks and months – they failed and tried again, and then again.
Until they got to the solution that really changes the way of understanding car parts production.
The strength of your idea is to adopt changes and lead your company to that future that is already the present of those who have already adopted the One-Shot® Method, from Jeep to Volkswagen.
PS. Choosing a car can be really hard these days. I did give my friend Mario some advice. I hope that solved his doubts.
Kind regards,
Giovanni Affinita
General Manager and Member of the Board of Directors
