An interview with Managing Director Manuel Diepolder

What were your expectations for 2021 at the beginning of the year?

I didn’t expect the corona pandemic to drag on for so long. Then as now, it was the dominant topic, but the vaccination campaign had just started in early 2021. It was possible to develop several effective vaccines within a very short time, which exceeded all expectations. That’s why I expected a normalization. It is very regrettable that things turned out differently.

From a business perspective, what influence did the pandemic have on Allgäu Batterie and ALLithium as well as on everyday work?

Compared to 2020, there was objectively less cause for concern regarding the pandemic due to the presence of vaccines, enough tests and masks. Subjectively, however, 2021 was the clearly more exhausting year. The main challenge of the past few months has been keeping the divide between vaccinated and unvaccinated under control.

Of course, we also felt the pandemic in our everyday work. Fortunately, we were already very well positioned digitally before Corona and had taken the last precautions right at the beginning of the pandemic, for example to equip every employee who usually works in the office with complete home office equipment. The IT infrastructure for this was also already in place. However, our work culture lives primarily through human, personal interaction, and nothing can replace that. If the focus is also on compliance with constantly changing regulations, unfortunately other things are neglected.

2021 in 3 words?

Turbulent – due to the pandemic and the associated delivery difficulties.

Instructive – because lessons can always be learned from crises.

Confident – because our strategic realignment allows me to look to the future with confidence.

You mentioned the strategic realignment. How do Allgäu Batterie and ALLithium position themselves in the future?

We promise our customers that they will always receive exactly the solution from us that optimally suits their area of ​​application and with which they can achieve the greatest possible energetic benefit. And we recognized the signs of the times and acted. With our strategic realignment, we will set the focus so that we will remain successful in the long term. Specifically, that means: Our customers continue to benefit from our many years of experience with battery and charging technology for industrial trucks and AGVs in intralogistics, as well as from our stationary battery applications in all areas of emergency power supply. In addition, we are expanding our portfolio to include battery storage systems. Because the increasing electrification and digitization in all areas of the economy and society also require companies to deal with holistic, sustainable energy management. Regardless of whether it is in the field of e-mobility, renewable energy or network tariff optimization – battery storage systems are a success factor for the intelligent storage and use of energy.

Which learnings will you take with you from 2021 into the next year?

Even if it may be trite, it is more true than ever in our VUCA world – nothing is as constant as change. Especially when you think things are going to be a bit more leisurely, you will be surprised by the next unexpected development. Organizational resilience, which we aim to achieve as designers of the company, is of great importance.

In 2022, both the pandemic and the strained supply chains will be with us for a few more months. For the time being, there will be great uncertainties in business and private life. It is therefore all the more important as a company and as an employer to continue to be a partner who acts reliably, sustainably, flexibly and humanely.

What are the goals of Allgäu Batterie and ALLithium in 2022?

We want to continue growing in our four business areas of traction applications, lithium-ion batteries, emergency power supply and battery storage systems. For this we have built up knowledge and structures, which will now be supplemented with human resources. We strive to be a leading provider in all four areas in our geographic area.

In terms of products and service, we are well prepared for the current changes in the economy and society. And with the knowledge of how much know-how and motivation our team works every day on the optimal solution for our customers, I look very positively into the future.