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Sachin Samel is a big believer in the power of loving your work.
“Enjoy what you do,” enthuses the Head of Business: Solutions (Asia Pacific) at Endress+Hauser Group.
“There are 24 hours in a day. Eight hours we’re sleeping, eight hours go into maintenance and eight hours – the best hours of our day – we’re working. So if we don’t enjoy it, then the whole 24 hours is a waste. Make the most of your best eight hours at work, give your 150 percent to it, and the opportunities will come.”
“By having our operations across all major markets, and our customers in seven different diversified industries, we are able to ride the wave.”
Samel has over two decades of experience in the instrumentation and automation industry. He’s worked at companies including Ion Exchange India, Pryde Measurement, ABB Australia, and, since 2021, at Endress+Hauser Group – his current role since February this year – so it’s clear he truly has a passion for what he does.
As a family-owned company that has been a leader in measurement and automation technology for process and laboratory industries for the 72 years it has been operating, Endress+Hauser is still honoring its considerable heritage – having been founded in Lörrach, Germany, in 1953, and later established in 1989 in Singapore – at the same time as evolving.
Today, the organization boasts over 17,000 employees and is represented in more than 125 countries. In 2024, generated more than US$4.05 billion. Endress+Hauser has an increasingly diverse instrumentation and analysis portfolio in a wide range of industries, with particular emphasis on chemicals; food and beverage; life sciences; power and energy; mining, minerals and metals; oil and gas; and water and wastewater.
“After years of strong growth, 2024 was a year of consolidation for Endress+Hauser,” Samel explains. “Last year, we had strongest development within food and beverage and power and energy. The water and wastewater and mining, minerals and metals sectors performed above average, while life sciences and oil and gas developed at an average level. The chemicals industry was the only segment to record a decline, driven by a downturn in Europe.
“Some industries may be in investing mode, others might be in hold mode, and others are consolidating or divesting. By having our operations across all major markets, and our customers in seven different diversified industries, we are able to ride the wave.”
Endress+Hauser South-East Asia and Asia–Pacific’s strategy over the next few years involves innovation and strategic partnerships and acquisitions, as well as significant investments in new facilities and capabilities.
Endress+Hauser’s strategy is exploring increased automation and digitalization, which is also occurring industry-wide.
“In a recent statement, our CEO, Peter Selders, said that innovation is a key driver of our success as technology leaders,” Samel explains. “We firmly believe that we need to continue innovating our products and our offerings to be able to meet the ever-changing customer needs.”
“We cannot be successful without people.”
In 2024, the company launched 81 new products and spent US$298 million on R&D, and an additional US$378 million was invested into new buildings – the most ever spent – with plans for US$599 million to be spent on investment projects next year.
“This is basically having new facilities and campuses where we can expand our sales organization, host our people and develop new products to meet our customers’ needs,” Samel says. “These are big numbers; there’s a lot of investments. We believe that we need to get the right products, the right technologies and the right people while harnessing their development as well.
“All of this provides an ecosystem to develop more products, new technologies and people as well.”
Last year, the company also entered into a strategic partnership in process automation with German company SICK – another leader in process automation – adding more than 800 employees in sales and service to Endress+Hauser’s team and establishing a joint venture for production with another 730-plus employees.
Samel favors a democratic leadership style that values suggestions on decision-making and feedback from the wider team.
“I will also challenge them and their thinking as well,” he explains. “And then eventually I will come to a conclusion, and I’ll make a decision based on the input from employees and what I also think as well.”
Culture and teamwork are key to any company’s success, as is a reliance on trusted partners, such as diverse measurement and analytical technology solutions provider Axis Solutions Limited, Kingjarl and NK Engineering. In fact, people are at the heart of every element of Endress+Hauser, from employees and suppliers to, of course, the customers.
“We cannot be successful without people,” Samel says. “We are a family-owned company, so it’s a very friendly environment. Friendliness is basically one of our core values. Georg Endress, one of our Founders, used to always say that by serving the customers first, we can earn later.
“So in this era, we are even closer to customers. We are there to work with them on their challenges, rather than only selling the product.”
Staff acquisition is also essential for growing and improving Endress+Hauser, which is why Samel is prioritizing the search for people with both talent and ambition.
“In my youth, engineering was very exciting; people were engaged,” Samel explains. “Nowadays, instrumentation is no longer attractive in comparison to emerging technologies such as AI, cybersecurity, industrial IoT, renewables, internet of medical things, robotics and so on. So unfortunately, we’re seeing some of the colleges not even offering it. There needs to be more awareness about the different engineering types and what practical usage could look like.”
“We firmly believe that we need to continue innovating our products and our offerings to be able to meet the ever-changing customer needs.”
To encourage more students to consider this career path, Endress+Hauser hosts younger students as part of their graduate program.
“They get a chance to learn about the company, about the different functions here, and after the completion of the graduate program, should there be any vacancies that align with interests, we can offer that,” Samel says.
“We also get younger apprentices, so rather than waiting for graduates, we also engage people – by going to schools and colleges – at an earlier stage as well.”
All these steps are a strong indication of the positive future Samel sees for the company.
“We remain very attentive to current geopolitical upheavals and global uncertainty that we are all currently facing,” he acknowledges. “We will direct all our energy and focus on those things that are within our sphere of control, always with the aim of staying close to our customer and providing them with the best possible support.
“We want to continue to make good use of our opportunities and to develop our company and our people in a successful way in 2025 and beyond.”
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