Attached please find instructions for obtaining your 2021 pricing updates, effective January 1, 2021. Adjustments are heavily weighted to parts to offset commodity price pressures, while on the heavy capital equipment and consumables most affected by the current downturn adjustments are zero to nominal.
In 2020, we implemented a significant change to our pricing and discounts for our Powermax® products in North America. The goal of the change is to enable an improved profit opportunity for partners who are investing time and dollars to deliver a superior experience to our mutual customers. Feedback from partners has been very positive so we will rollout globally in 2021; your Hypertherm account manager will contact you to discuss the details and to answer questions about this important change.
Without question, 2020 has been a challenge. Fortunately, we have maintained continuous operation, our Associate population has remained healthy and we have held true to our no-layoff policy. While traditional business measures would not indicate that this was a strong year, we have been inspired by our Associates’ efforts to help first responders by producing masks and face shields and to assist those less fortunate by volunteering their time performing community service. There have been some bright spots in terms of sales and market expansion, but it is the commitment of our Associates – and our partnership with you during challenging times – that we will remember from 2020.
Improving the Customer Experience remains an important focus and we see good results in the form of customer satisfaction surveys and brand studies which show high favorability and preference for Hypertherm products. A core strategy is to enable partners who want to compete on value to win sales that otherwise may have gone to a price-based, low-service seller. One outcome is that we have reduced the number of authorized partners in our network, allowing us to work more closely with those of you who share our commitment to long-term customer success.
Looking forward, we continue to emphasize growth via customer-focused product and service innovations. Our innovation pipeline is strong and includes:
• A new range of Powermax products which has performed exceptionally well through an extensive period of global field trials.
• Hardware and software innovations for automated shaped steel cutting.
• Next generation waterjet cutting technology.
• A new SureCut™ performance application that significantly increases material utilization, thus addressing the #1 cost associated with cutting: Wasted material.
We are excited to bring these innovations to market with you.
From all of us at Hypertherm, we wish you good health and favorable market conditions for the remainder of the year and in 2021. We look forward to seeing you in person soon.
Reese Madden
Sr. Director, Corporate Marketing Operations
reese.madden@hypertherm.com