From aerated autoclaved concrete to gypsum fibreboard and limestone products, Xella Group manufactures and markets a wide range of building materials. The business operates ninety-six production plants in twenty countries around the world, as well as sales and marketing offices in more than thirty places. Additionally, it has its own research and development centre, which is working on product and process research, applied research and construction physics.
Jochen Fabritius has been the CEO of Xella Group since March 2016, after a move from the COO position, which he held for slightly more than year. A civil engineer by profession, he spoke with The CEO Magazine about the changes he has implemented since his appointment as CEO, the culture he instils within the company, and what attracted him to this career path.
The CEO Magazine: While working as a partner for the business management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company, you were asked by the owners of Xella to perform a review of their operations. Tell us about how that experience helped you when you eventually joined Xella as COO in 2014.
Jochen: For the review I had the privilege of having a full team of around fifteen people working with me to develop my hypothesis on Xella. Thus, when I officially joined as COO, I had a pretty good view on what Xella was all about. The business had really strong fundamentals when looking at its people, products and brands. This is backed by hard facts. If you compare the financial profile of Xella with its peers, it is more profitable and its returns are more stable.
Having great people in the workplace can make all the difference in the world.
So first is the people. Being a large organisation means it can attract great talent. I think that makes a huge difference. In fact, having great people in the workplace can make all the difference in the world. Second is the product portfolio. Xella delivers solutions that can be differentiated, which is great because then you are not in the commodity trap. Third is the brands held under the Xella banner. Not too many people have heard of Xella but almost everybody knows Ytong.Ytong is the best known brand in light-side building materials. Then there are Multipor, Silka, Hebel and Fermacell — which are all excellent brands as well.
Those three things create the platform from which I started. At the same time there was a big opportunity to use that platform to drive further top-end and bottom-line growth.
How would we do that? By driving professionalism, innovation and structural improvements and, last but not least, by instilling trust in my new team. That is what I am focused on now as the CEO, and this is having a positive effect on the business.
How do you plan to grow Xella from here?
It is perhaps less obvious than what you might expect, but my biggest focus is on the softer side of things. I am heavily focused on cultural change — I want Xella to be non-hierarchical, open, professional and also quick to act. Fundamentally, I believe those are the things that bring change to an organisation. My goal is to create a company that I like for myself because if I like it then other people are bound to like it as well.