A new chapter for HEROSE: HEROSE Americas in Charlotte, NC
HEROSE's more than 150-year success story is writing a new chapter. With the founding of our subsidiary HEROSE Americas in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, we are bringing our passion and expertise directly to the economic heart of the American Southeast. We are reinforcing our nearly 20-year partnership with Ratermann Manufacturing and providing additional support to the North American market.
Charlotte is considered one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the USA: Home to numerous Fortune 500 companies, the city is a leading center for financial services, energy, engineering, and transportation companies. Its central location between the Atlantic coast and the industrial centers of the Midwest provides excellent connectivity.
Strategic importance for HEROSE
With the new subsidiary, we are creating a strategic hub in North and South America. From Charlotte, we can serve our customers and distribution partners faster, more directly, and more efficiently. A key component is the construction of our own assembly line with test benches, which allows us to respond flexibly to customer requests and market requirements. This not only increases our service speed but consequently our competitiveness in growing markets such as hydrogen, LNG, and industrial gases.
For our customers nothing changes in how they access HEROSE valves and solutions—Ratermann will always remain your distributor and point of contact. The new Charlotte facility is a powerful reflection of HEROSE’s commitment to this market and of the nearly two decades we’ve spent building this partnership together. We are deeply grateful for the trust HEROSE continues to place in us. Dirk Zschalich’s vision for HEROSE shines through in this expansion, and we are proud to complement that vision by ensuring HEROSE products are available quickly and reliably through our warehouses nationwide.
(George Ratermann, CEO at Ratermann Manufacturing)
Future-oriented expansion
With HEROSE Americas, we are sending a clear signal for our international growth strategy. "This expansion is a strong commitment to our growth strategy. We don't just want to be part of the market, but to help shape the market together with our partners. Customer proximity, regional value creation, and technical excellence form the basis for this," emphasises Markus Feldenkirchen, President of HEROSE Americas.
Interview with the President of HEROSE Americas Inc.
Why is it important for HEROSE to have its own location in the USA?
Markus Feldenkirchen: With a location in the USA, we strengthen our ability to serve the North American and South American markets while continuing to support our partners as our distributors. Especially the US shows a strong growth potential for HEROSE. Supporting our exclusive partner for this location therefore is crucial. Here the main focus is to be of best possible service to our partner Ratermann – a partnership which has a legacy of almost 20 years. HEROSE Americas helps Ratermann maintain the responsiveness and reliability that customers expect, while the remain to be the direct contact for the U.S. customers and all orders continue to go through their team.
From Charlotte, we can develop not only the US market, but also the Central and South American markets more effectively. Regular, direct communication with our partners – Debenelux, Qualitec, Energiuas and Oxiredes - is our highest priority.
The US is a large and highly independent market, which differs significantly from our home market in Europe in many aspects. A true understanding of the market can only be achieved on-site – and only then can we incorporate our customers' specific requirements into our products. Therefore, we have not only set up a warehouse in the new subsidiary, but also a dedicated assembly area. This allows us to assemble selected series directly on-site and professionally prepare them for use in applications such as oxygen.
Markus, you are already living in America for a longer time. Where do think the biggest cultural differences are?
Markus Feldenkirchen: The style of communication is certainly the most striking difference. In the US, things are often more direct, lively, and overall more personal than in Germany. At the same time, much is based more on personal relationships. Trust is built through direct exchange – a handshake and regular meetings are highly valued.
Another difference can be seen in the expectations for responsiveness and customer service. Delivery times and responsiveness play a decisive role in evaluating partnerships. Customers expect a very quick and flexible response to their needs – this strongly influences our work.
What are the next steps planned for HEROSE Americas?
Markus Feldenkirchen: Our top priority right now is building a small, agile team for customer support and partner management in the same time zone. This will enable us to intensify relationships with our customers and partners in North and South America and develop them into long-term relationships.
Additionally, we are closely working with our colleagues from Bad Oldesloe on the AAR certification, which will strengthen our position as a leading supplier in the cryogenic area for rail transport. Also, the ASME VR Stamp is on the top of the agenda. It will enable us to assemble certain valve series directly in the USA in the future. This will allow us to respond more quickly to our customers' needs while simultaneously reducing transportation costs, as we source the semi-finished products directly from our German production facility and finalise them here.
