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WWW.PETROLWORLD .COM ISSUE TWO 2011

008 Section1 Feature>CompanyProfile:Tokheim,TheQualityFocus

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Tokheim:TheQualityFocusForalong-establishedcompany,Tokheimhasembracedrapidchangeinrecentyears.PETROLWORLD speakstogroupPresidentandCEOPatrickBerthonandCOOBaudouindelaTourtofindouthowthecompanyhasgrowninrecentyears,whatseparatesitfromcompetitors,andwhatitseesasthemajorchallengesforthefuture.

Eversince1898–whenaNorwegianmerchantnamedJohnJ.TokheiminventedoneofthefirstgasolinepumpsintheUnitesStates–thecompanyhefoundedhasbeenbuiltonareputationforconsistentquality,marketleadingtechnologiesandinnovation.

From1996aseriesofmergersandconsolidationofEuropeanmanufacturersresultedinthewider,globalTokheimCompanyweknowtoday.Furthertoaleveragedmanagementbuyoutin2003,headquarterswereestablishedinParisandfromthatpointonthenewjourneyhascontributedfurthertothehistoryofTokheim.MeetingattheirDundeeManufacturingfacilitiesit’sclearthatthecompanyanditsstaffareinbuoyantmood.

Above, left: Patrick Berthon, CEOAbove, right: Baudouin de la Tour, COO

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RecentlytheyhavebeenawardedbusinessbyShell,TotalandOMV,withShellthishasalsoextendedtomaintenanceandglobalsitesystems.Theirgrowthintheservicesectorispartofawiderstrategyanditappearsthemarketlikeit–Tokheimhaswonnumerouslong-termregionalandlocalmaintenancecontractsrecently.

“Duringtheseeightyears,wehavecontinuedourstrategyoffurtherdevelopingourglobalcoveragethroughorganicgrowthandacquisitions,”saysPresidentandCEOPatrickBerthon.“Wegrewourrevenuefrom€329minourfiscalyearof2003-2004to€591mintheyearthatjustendedinApril.Today,wehave5,275employees,andweareby

farthelargestemployerinourindustry–notforthesakeofbeingbigger,buttoallowustobetterserveourcustomersatalocallevel.”

Berthon,whohimselfjoinedTokheimaspartofthegroup’sacquisitionofRPSSchlumberger,isalsokeentoemphasisethatthecompanyhasadaptedevenasithasintegratedothercompanies“ThestructureofTokheimisverymuchalive,notrigidorfixed.Whenweacquireacompany,wereallymakealotofefforttointegratetheirskillsandtheircultureintothecultureofTokheim.Generally,wekeepthemanagement,becauseit’sagoodcompanywithgoodowners.OurgoalistogrowthefamilyofTokheim,soin99%ofthecaseswekeep

thesamepeople,”heexplains.

Global Experience, Local KnowledgeIt’sclearalsothat,ingrowingtheTokheimfamily,thecompany’smanagementteamhaveaclearobjectiveinmind:aglobalfootprint,withalocalpresence.“Wehaveacommitmenttobedirectlypresentwherewedobusinesswheneverthat’spossible.Obviously,thatisn’tpossibleallthetime.So,eitherwehaveadirectpresence,oraverystrongandusuallylong-standingrelationshipwithdistributors,overwhichwehaveaverystrongcontrolintermsofservicequality,”saysCOOBaudouindelaTour.“Throughthisnetworkofsalesandservicepeopleineachcountry,weareveryclosetothecustomerbase.

The structure of Tokheimis very much alive, not rigid or fixed. When we acquire a company, we really make a lot of effort to integrate their skills and their culture into the culture of Tokheim.

Below: BillArundel,DirectorofSalesandMarketing

tostandbehindourproducts,becausewe’regoingtobeworkingwiththeseproductsandlivingwiththemasourcustomersare.”Thecompany,delaTourcontinues,thereforehasadepthofinvolvementinitsclients’business–intandemwithanextraordinarybreadth–thatisunmatched.“Wehaveglobalequipmentcompetitors,orglobalmaintenancecompetitors.Butthere’snoonewithTokheim’scombinedglobalwidthandscopetoday-becausethisauniquestrategy.Thedownstreamfuelretailsectorhasclearlyembracedtheapproach,asTokheimcurrentlyhassome40,000stationsundercontractaroundtheworld.Wemaintainallthosestations,andyoucanonlyimaginehowmanyinterventionsthatis!2,500techniciansaremobilisedeveryday-repairing,fixing,doingmaintenancework.Allthisprovidesawealthofexpertisethatweusetoimproveourprocesses,andalsoourproducts.Thisexpertisealsocontributestosomethingweknowisessential,safety.”

Cross-polinisingThesafetyissueissomethingthat

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Wehaveagoodlocalorganisationfurthersupportedbyastrongstructure,andtouchcustomerswheretheyare.Weknowboththemajorsandthesmallercompanies,andthat’sabenefit,becausethecustomerbaseisalwayschanging,”headds.

ThatlocalpresenceisallthemoreimportantgiventhenatureofTokheim’sgrowthinrecentyears.Intandemwithitsoriginalmissionofmanufacturingproductsforfuelservicestations,thecompanyhasaddedtoitsservicingandmaintenancefunctions,becomingapartnerforretailfueldistributionorganisationsworkingwiththemfortheconstructionofastationandifrequiredthedecommissioningofsites.“Weareveryfocusedonretailfueldistribution.Forthesecustomers,wetendtodoeverything:notjustequipment,butwehavetheabilitytobewithourcustomersfromcradletograve.Weneverjustsellandgoaway,whichisneveragreatwaytodolonger-termbusiness,becausemaintenanceofforecourtequipmentisourcorebusiness,”explainsdelaTour.“Wecandemonstrateacommitment

bothdelaTourandBerthonspeakpassionatelyabout–afterall,it’sonlythroughhumaningenuityandvigilancethatthebusinessofdistributingfuelismadesafe.Thatingenuityandvigilanceisreinforcedbyastructurethatmakessafetyapriorityonalocallevel,whilealsofosteringanongoingdialoguetoimplementup-to-datebestpracticefromaroundtheworld.“Safetyisacoreconcern.ThereisaHealthandSafetyManagerworkingwiththeCountryManagerandreportingbestpractice.Wehavetheseprocessesthatarecommonlyacceptedandimplementedacrosstheboard,andwehavepeopletobringthewholenetworktogether.It’sachallenge,always,butforus,it’swhatworksbest,”saysdelaTour.

IndeedhavingadialogueacrossthewholegroupisimportantforwhatTokheimseesasitscorechallenge:maintainingandimprovingqualitygloballywhilestillremainingflexibletoworkinvariedenvironments.“Manycompanieswilltellyouaboutmatrixoptimisation.Wearemoresimple:wehavelocalsalesandservicedivisionsthatworkwiththededicateddispenserandsystemsbusinessunits”saysdelaTour.“Itissometimesachallengetokeepthesynergiesandtheconsistency.Ourwayofbalancingthelocalwiththeinternationalistokeepcoretechnologiescentral.Allthecomponentsweuseinourproductsarecentrallydevelopedandmonitored.Ifyoulookatservicesandprocesses,weareusingcutting-edgesoftwaretomanagethoseprocesses–they’vebeenrefinedthroughthelastsevenoreightyearsanddeployedinseveralcountries.Thisallowsustohaveaconsistentapproachacrosstheorganisation.Then,forsofterelementssuchasbestpracticeorbenchmarking,wehavesmall,dedicatedcentralteamswhosejobistocreateinformalnetworks.Theywillbringtogetherthemaintenanceoperationmanagersofdifferentcountriesandmakethemworktogetheroncommonprojects.Atthehighestlevel,whichistheCountryManager,weorganisewhatwecallbestpracticesessions.It’sanopendoor,wherethecountrydisplayswhattheydo–whattheydowell,andwhattheydon’tdosowell–andtheothercountrymanagershaveachancetoeitherlearnfromthemorgivethemadvice.Wedothisforserviceandhealthandsafety,”revealsdelaTour.“Becausewelearnfromthebest,andcanbenchmarkandcross-polinise,wearealsoabletohelptheindustrygrowand

010 Section1 Feature>CompanyProfile:Tokheim,TheQualityFocus

Left: Quantium 510, with all-in-one Media Screen & Calculator (TQC-VGA), integrated payment terminal (Crypto VGA), Tokheim’s new TQC calculator plus its TQM meter. Tokheim’s Quantium 510is regarded as having a lowertotal cost of ownership.

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aboutconstantlyimprovingtheirproductsorservices–fewdoitquiteastangiblyasTokheim.Forproof,youjustneedtolookatthelatestTokheimdispenser,whichhasbeenradicallyoverhauledinthelastthreeyears.“Wehavecompletelyreplacedthekeycomponents:themeter,thepumpingunit,andthecalculator.Thefeedbackfromourcustomers,whohaverecentlyawardeduswithsomeverylargeglobaltenders,isthatthesecorecomponentsweresomeofthekeydecidingfactorsforchoosingTokheim’sdispensers.”

TheglobalreachofTokheimhelpsinthisimprovementprocess,particularlyontheserviceandmaintenancesideoftheoperation.Withmaintenanceinterventionsconstantlytakingplacearoundtheworld,thishasallowedthecompanytobuildupahugebankofdatatofurtherimproveproductsandservices.“Wekeeptrackofeachandeveryintervention:whenatechniciangoesintothefieldtorepairadispenser,systemorpaymentterminalwhetherit’soursoracompetitor’s,wekeepalogofwhathe’sdoing,whatwaswrong,whatmoduleorcomponent.Allthisgoesintoadatabasethatorganisestheinformation.Wearethenabletoanalysethisdataandunderstand,indepth,whatcangowrong.Thisisfedbackintoourproductdevelopmentprocesstoimprovedesign”delaTourexplains.“Weunderstandwhyourproductsarebetterthanourcompetitors,becausewedealwithbothonadailybasis.Youcanseenotjustwhatiswrongwithacomponent,butyoucanseewhereatrendmaybedeveloping.Youdon’thavetowaitforthepointwhereyouhavetodoahuge

servicecompany.Thatserviceisdonebypeople,sosomethingwetakeseriously

istodevelopandmotivateourpeople.Thatcouldbejustwordsbut,in

ourcase,wereallyfeelthatifwedon’tdoit,wecan’tgive

servicetoourcustomers.Itstartsin-house,”says

deleTour.“Partofourcultureiscontinuousimprovement–neverbeingsatisfiedwithwhatwehave.Itappliesacrosstheboard.Youcangotoafactoryand,hopefully,theywillshowyoutheverytangiblethingsthathappenontheshop

floorwiththeworkerstakingtheirenvironment

intheirhands,toimproveefficiency,toimprove

quality,tomakeitflowbetter.Everybodyinthefactoryisor

willbeinvolvedthisyearinsomeimportantproject.It’sacultureof

smallsteps,butanever-endingprocessatallthelevels,”heexplains,addingthatthisalsoholdstrueforTokheim’smaintenanceandservicebusiness.“Inthemaintenanceindustry,it’saboutlabour,spareparts,andgasoline.Onthosethreeelements,there’sanalmostendlesslistofthingsyoucandotoimprove:tohavetechnicianswitheasierroundsandmoredensityofsites,sothere’slessdistancetotravel,tohavespareparts,easieraccesstothestations.It’sanever-endingprocess.”

Action on the groundOfcourse,manycompanieswilltalk

develop,fromMOCstoindependents.Eventhesmallestcompany,wecanhelpgrow,becauseit’snotalwayspossibleforasmallmaintenanceoperationtohavethislevelofexpertise.”

A culture of excellenceThatcross-polinisingeffort,delaTourandBerthonexplain,isakeyparttooneofTokheim’smainadvantages:acultureofexcellenceandconstantimprovement.“Weareaservicebusiness:anequipmentcompany,anda

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Tokheimaimstominimisethecostoftheequipmentnotjustintheinitialpurchaseprice,butthroughthetotalcostofowningandoperatingaproduct.“Forusandforourcustomers,totalcostofownershipiskey.It’snotgoodenoughtojusthavethelowestacquisitioncostifthatdifferenceincostislaterbeingspentonmaintenance.”saysdeleTour.Thatconcepthaswon-overforward-thinkingsmallercompaniesandindustrygiantsalike,asTokheimrecentlyannouncedthatithasbeenselectedastheEuropeansupplieroffueldispensersforShellfuelservicestationsinEurope.“Itdemonstratesthetrustthatisplacedinthequalityandinnovationofourproductsbyourcustomersatagloballevel,”saysBerthon.

A changing marketWinningandholdingthattrustiscriticalinanindustrythatischangingrapidly–sotooisbeingconsciousofthetectonicshiftsinthesector.

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retrofit–youspotthetrendsastheyemerge,andthenyoufixtheissuebeforeit’stoolate.”

Payment and SecurityOutsideofdispensersandservice,Tokheim’sothercustomeroffering,systems,hascontinueditsgrowthoverthelastdecade.TheCompany’sEPOSandpaymentterminalsarenowinstalledacross48countries.PatrickBerthonsays,“SystemsandPaymentarekeytoprovidingaflexibleofferingtoourcustomers.Wehavedevelopedsystemswiththehighestlevelofsecurityintheindustry-ourpaymentterminalwasthefirsttobecomplianttoPCI(V3),whichisfutureproofedto2020.Ourhardwareandsoftwaresolutionsarescalableandweprovideawholehostofadditionstohelpourclientsmanagetheretailaspectsoftheirbusiness.Thisallhelpsdeliverbettercustomerservicetotheend-user.”

Total Cost of OwnershipTheTCOapproachisanewwayofthinkingaboutfueldistributionanditsassociatedcost.Inprovidingandmaintainingessentialproductstothefuelretailsector,Tokheimemphasiseswhatitcallsthe‘TotalCostofOwnership’.Overthelifecycleofadispenser,theinitialpurchasepricewillbepaidagainseveraltimesoverinmaintenanceandotheroperatingcost.Evenmorewillbepaidifadispenserislackinginqualityorreliability,throughfuellossordowntime,resultinginlowerthroughputandsales.Therefore,

FortunatelyforTokheim,thecompany’sseniorexecutivesarekeenlyawareofthedevelopmentswithintheirindustry.“Thecustomerbaseischanging.Weseethatmoreandmore.MajoroilcompaniesaredivestingcertainpartsoftheirexistingnetworksandweseetheemergenceandgrowthofotherNationalOilandindependentgroups.What’sinterestingisthatthesenewcustomersaremoreandmorefocusedontheirretailbusiness–they’vebecomeretailspecialists.Ourstrategyhasalwaysbeentobeclosetoourcustomers:tohaveaflexibleapproachtothebusinessisbestforthesecustomers,becausetheycanfocusontheirretailbusiness,”saysdeleTour.

“Anotherchangeisthatthemarginsaresqueezedmoreandmore,andoperatinganetworkofstationsismoreandmoredifficult.Therearealotofconstraints,fromenvironmentaltotax-wise,andthemarginonthefuelisreallylow.It’satoughbusinessand,again,whenyouthinkofwhatwebring–expertise,theabilitytohelpcustomersthoughthelife-cycleofastation–itgivesustheperfecttoolstoaddvalueandhelpthembemoresuccessful,notjustonthesaleoftheequipmentbutthroughoutitslife.Thatcomesintotheconceptofthetotalcostofownership,”headds.“Anothertrendthatisthatfuelpricesarehigh,andlooklikeremainingsofortheforeseeablefuture.Itisalreadyveryimportant,andgoingtobecomemoreimportanttohelpourcustomersavoidfuelloss.Fuellossisthenewfrontier

012 Section1 Feature>CompanyProfile:Tokheim,TheQualityFocus

Fuel loss is the new frontier for stations. They’re already very good at tendering for equipment, maintenance, and pushing their overall costs down. But there’s still this big pot of gold, which is the fuel loss that any network, any station can experience.

Below: Fuel POS offers a full integrated forecourt control and an intuitive graphic user interface for monitoring and managing all types of fuel dispensers on a touch screen. In addition, the forecourt control focuses on reducing drive-offs by providing built-in alerts, video integration and fuel prepayment.

Right: Crypto VGA, Secure Payment Terminal.

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forstations.Theestablishedplayersarealreadyverygoodattenderingforequipment,maintenance,andpushingtheiroverallcostsdown.Butthere’sstillthisbigpotofgold,whichisthefuellossthatanynetwork,anystationcanexperience.Thisisgoingtobeveryimportantforthefuture,andTokheim’sportfolioofproductsandservicescanhelpthemwiththiscorepartofthebusiness.”Finally,saysdelaTour,thereisachangingspectrumoftechnology–andcompanieswhoimaginethateveryinnovationwillimprovetheirbusinessmaybedisappointed.“Innovationcanbringcomplexitiesandproblems–ifit’snottherightinnovation.There’sinnovationonthedispenser,systemsandpayment;allkindsofnewfeaturesthatareoffered.Someareuseful,andsomelessso.Weseeourroleasworkingwithandhelpingcustomersbringintherightkindofinnovation–

Patrick Berthon, President and CEOPatrickBerthonjoinedTokheimin1998aspartoftheRPSacquisitionfromSchlumberger.HeisthePresidentoftheGroupsince2003.

Priortothis,PatrickwasPresidentofTokheimEuropeandAfrica.WithintheSchlumbergergroupfrom1975till1998,heservedasFinancialController,MarketingManagerandChiefOperatingOfficerofvariousbusinessunits.

HeisagraduateofEcoleSupérieured’ElectricitéinFrance(B.S.inElectronics)andholdsanMBAfromINSEAD.

Baudouin de la Tour, COOBaudouindelaTouristheChiefOperatingOfficerofTokheimsince2010.HejoinedtheCompanyin2007withtheoverallresponsibilityforTokheim’sglobalnetworkofSalesandServiceDivisions(SSDs).

PriortojoiningTokheim,BaudouinwasManagingDirectorofThomsonElectronics’DigitalBroadbandbusiness,thenadivisionofaGermanGroupactiveintheautomotiveindustry.

HehaspreviouslyheldfinanceandbusinessdevelopmentpositionsatanumberofEuropeancorporateenterprises.HeisagraduateofInstitutd’EtudesPolitiquesdeParis(I.E.P),holdsaMaster’sdegreeinLaw,andanMBAfromH.E.CSchool,Paris.

Feature>CompanyProfile:Tokheim,TheQualityFocusSection1 013

theinnovationthataddsvalue,thathelps.Wehavetodelivertherightinnovationtothemarketattherighttime.Thatneedsexpertise,ofcourse,anditalsorequiresanunderstandingofhowthestationoperates–thisiswhatwedo.

There’severyreasontobeconfidentthatTokheimwilldeliveronthispromise–andotherpledges–longintothefuture.Afterall,it’sanorganisationthathasthrivedthroughharnessinginnovation,fromaNorwegianmerchant’s1898inventiontoworld-leadingmanufacturingtechnologiesanddatatrackingthatgivesitarguablythebest-informedmaintenanceoperationintheworld.Embracingchangeandstrivingtoimprovehasworkedforoverahundredyearsnow,andlookssettocontinue.

Above: TQM Meter. Minimal drift over the lifetime of a dispenser. Left: Crypto VGA payment terminal is combining

a completely unique design with a revolutionnary fraud protecting housing system.