Technology with a Special Touch
Interview with Anthony Hunckler, Head of Marketing and Design at Pyramid Computer GmbH
Digital solutions can simplify everyday life in many areas. People regularly encounter the self-service solutions from Pyramid Computer GmbH in everyday life - for example, in restaurants. The high-end industrial computers of the IT experts from Freiburg, however, tend to operate behind the scenes. Anthony Hunckler, Head of Marketing and Design, discusses innovation and evolution and the company's attractiveness to employees in an interview with Wirtschaftsforum.
Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Hunckler, what has changed at PYRAMID since the coronavirus pandemic?
Anthony Hunckler: The Corona era has led to an evolution of our brands. Today, we have three brands: AKHET®, faytech®, and POLYTOUCH®. Corona has fueled digitalization in the DACH region and Europe. People have become more open to digitalization; it has become more commonplace for many. Digital self-service, for example, is becoming increasingly important, whether in grocery retail or in restaurants. With our POLYTOUCH® brand, we provide modern and design-focused kiosk solutions for self-checkout and self-ordering. Our customers include major companies like Burger King and EDEKA. In times of permanent staff shortages, our systems help operators streamline processes and at the same time enhance the shopping experience for consumers.
Wirtschaftsforum: What is the current market situation?
Anthony Hunckler: We feel, like the entire industry, the uncertainty caused by inflation. High energy costs also play an important role.
Wirtschaftsforum: What makes your products particularly special?
Anthony Hunckler: Unlike most competitors who combine hardware and software, we specialize in hardware. We offer both standardized and custom-designed systems tailored to customer needs. We use platforms from which we cost-effectively develop and produce the solutions our customers need for their specific use case, such as in terms of performance, peripheral modules, and CI. In our design studio, customers can experience our technologies. As scalable as our technologies are our services: These include design, development, prototyping, assembly, laboratory testing, and product certifications, specific labels and nameplates, a smart logistics concept with consignment warehouses (LLZ), drop-shipping, and rapid global shipping.
Wirtschaftsforum: What specifically do your three brands encompass?
Anthony Hunckler: With industrial PCs and servers from AKHET®, we have been in the market for nearly 40 years. Our devices are targeted at customers in machinery manufacturing, healthcare, aviation, optoelectronics, and also in grocery retail. Our Tower Big, with up to two of the largest currently available desktop RTX graphics cards, offers maximum performance for computing CAD sketches, rendering scenarios, training AI models, and driving large digital signage arrays with 8K content. faytech® represents touch technology, including touch monitors, touch PCs, large-format digital whiteboards, and interactive mirrors. We use our liquid adhesive CLEAR-BOND, a patented in-house development, for optical bonding of the displays. Part of the faytech® portfolio is suited for use in challenging industrial environments (like dust and heat). With the self-service terminals of our brand POLYTOUCH®, we serve not only the aforementioned sectors of grocery retail and system catering. We also cater to the entertainment industry, healthcare, the hospitality industry, and both private and public mobility sectors. Many people interact with our solutions every day, but since we are often not listed as the manufacturer, Pyramid Computer GmbH remains unseen in the background.
Wirtschaftsforum: Are there any new innovations you can report?
Anthony Hunckler: Innovation and evolution are omnipresent with us. Under AKHET®, we are introducing a workstation at embedded world North America—a tower PC that can be used to control MRI systems. Cooling such power is handled by a sophisticated airflow system our engineers have specifically developed for the tower series. In our POLYTOUCH® devices, we are now integrating components like microphone and camera systems to collect data, which is then processed by an AI that calculates the appropriate response and communicates it back to the user through the system. Key issues are accessibility and energy saving, meaning we ensure that our terminals are operable from a wheelchair or only wake up from standby mode when a person approaches. This year, faytech® developed a kiosk with a transparent touch display for self-ordering, which was a crowd puller at this year's EuroCIS. At faytech®, we are increasing the number of touch points in the display. Up to 40 are currently possible, allowing, for instance, four people to input simultaneously, such as during brainstorming for a new project.
Wirtschaftsforum: How difficult is it for you to recruit skilled workers?
Anthony Hunckler: We train in-house – and very successfully. In 2017, the best junior IT systems electronics technician in Germany came from our company. In November, we are hosting a breakfast for students from technical faculties; that means we actively strive to attract promising talents. Moreover, we offer benefits such as mobile working, JobRad, Hansefit, free refueling for employees' electric cars, and of course, we subsidize the Germany Ticket generously. And we offer exciting jobs. We are known for our innovation strength; there are always new developments. With each new customer, it becomes interesting again. Employees can develop and take on responsibility.
Wirtschaftsforum: What's next for PYRAMID in the near future?
Anthony Hunckler: We are on the verge of launching our new communication strategy with a new website and new marketing. While a large part of our customers is focused on the DACH region, we operate globally. There are exhibitions in Europe and the USA coming up soon. We also have several go-to-market products in the pipeline. Wirtschaftsforum: What is your greatest motivation? Anthony Hunckler: We work globally and there are always new challenges. I really like that!