It marks a new era with changing leadership and a renewed strategy that outlines the ambitions of this progressive business to build on a long legacy of metrology market success and look at potential new growth avenues through a slightly different lens. Headquartered in Japan, Mitutoyo Corporation stands as a pillar in the field of metrology, renowned for its unwavering commitment to precision and innovation. Backed by a long and successful legacy, Mitutoyo has established itself as a global market leader, providing advanced measurement solutions to industries worldwide. As a prominent player in Europe, Mitutoyo has built a strong network of subsidiaries, sales offices and service centres across the continent, ensuring seamless support for customers in diverse sectors.
Although new to the role of President at Mitutoyo Europe, Ray Penny is far from new to Mitutoyo. He embarked on a career at the company as a UK service technician in 1986. Further roles in field service and technical sales/support ultimately led to his appointment as UK Export Sales Manager. In 2017, he was appointed Managing Director of Mitutoyo UK, which included a role on the board of Mitutoyo Europe. Today, as the President of Mitutoyo Europe, his responsibilities span the entire EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) region.
This career progression is indicative of the opportunities available at Mitutoyo, thanks largely to its corporate ethos of promoting from within and nurturing young talent through a positive workplace environment.
"I guess I´m a good example of that," he says. "I´m proud of my achievements and proud of Mitutoyo. I feel very much part of the company, but never take it for granted. Whatever the role here, you need to demonstrate commitment."
The European way
Expanding Ray Penny´s responsibilities Europe-wide means understanding cultural ways of working across many different countries, both internally and with the customer and dealer base, something he says he is keen to learn quickly.
"Although Mitutoyo Europe has a new President, it´s business as usual for our dealers and customers. However, one of the clear reasons for placing a European in this position for the first time is to implement a strategic change in Mitutoyo´s organisation - scrutinising the market through the eyes of more regional/local representation. I´m not seeking wholesale changes because we´re a very successful company, but our HQ in Japan wants a ´local´ organisation in Europe that reacts in a fast and agile way to the ever-evolving market here."
This is a primary goal of Mitutoyo Europe´s current mid-term management plan (2024-2029) as the company works towards its global "Vision 100" in 2034, a year that marks Mitutoyo´s 100th anniversary. Vision 100 sets out a clear ambition: to continue leading the future of measurement.
Let the market lead
Says Ray Penny: "A core target of our mid-term management plan is for Mitutoyo Europe to become a ´market-in´ driven organisation. By that I mean we want to reach a position where we have a clear understanding of the market´s needs both today and tomorrow. We can then feed this information to our R&D team in Japan. The ideas for new products should come from the market. That´s why we´ve set up a regional marketing division in Europe."
Key differences exist between the metrology markets in Japan and Europe. While both serve all sectors, the semiconductor industry - for instance - is far more prevalent in Japan than Europe, while aerospace and medical have a strong presence in Europe.
"Equally, we cannot forget our legacy sectors as they evolve. While it was great to see the recent opening of our Semiconductor Competence Centre in Veenendaal, Netherlands, for example, we cannot take our eye off the changing demands of legacy industries."
Automating the future
Astute and targeted product development is clearly pivotal for both new and existing sectors, with Ray Penny identifying automation as a focus area.
"We are of course already involved in automation, but it´s an area of our business where we see future growth. Mitutoyo has a broad portfolio of solutions from hand tools to the latest co-ordinate, form, optical and vision measuring systems - and everything in between. However, there´s areas across that spectrum where we have niche competition. So we have to think about extending our market differentiation and one area is the automation of inline measurement."
Another growth area for Europe is Mitutoyo´s OEM business, where the company can supply its solutions for seamless integration into products made by other manufacturers. Providing OEMs with Mitutoyo lenses or sensors, for example, can shorten time-to-market and mitigate the challenges and costs associated with manufacturing in-house. Mitutoyo has focused heavily on this area over the past two years, already recording green shoots of encouragement and notable successes.
Style and substance
Ensuring Mitutoyo and its customers benefit from these advances and others will take all of Ray Penny´s experience and know-how, where deploying the appropriate management tactics will be paramount. So how would he describe his leadership style?
"I´m very focused but also very open,» he says. »The team know their roles and the targets expected of them - and I trust them to deliver. Of course, in a senior role there are key decision to make but I´m a good listener and believe an open-minded approach garners a better response from employees. It also fosters motivation and helps with employee retention, which is vital in the current workforce market."
He adds: "We know where we are strong: we´re a metrology company with a name that the whole industry associates with precision measurement - a brand built on fundamental Japanese business attributes that include organisation, efficiency, progress and structure. And while we can never rest on our laurels, it´s held us in good stead for 91 years. Mitutoyo Europe is currently on an even keel in terms of annual sales revenues, which can be viewed as positive considering the challenging economic and political headwinds currently in play. That said, we set ourselves ambitious targets, which means getting creative at all levels of the business."
Ray Penny´s subtle, warm demeanour is complemented by positivity and commitment in abundance. With Europe already a significant contributor to Mitutoyo´s global turnover, he is confident that growth across the EMEA region is obtainable. His experience at Mitutoyo and in the metrology market means few should bet against the company achieving the gains it seeks in the coming years.
