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Taking it to the states

For Wincor Nixdorf, a prolonged effort to make a dent in the U.S. market for ATMs may begin to bear fruit in the coming months. At least, that's what the German firm's top American executive believes will happen.

January 31, 2002

For Wincor Nixdorf, a prolonged effort to make a dent in the U.S. market for ATMs may begin to bear fruit in the coming months. At least, that's what the German firm's top American executive believes will happen.

Scott Hackl, a vice president who heads up Wincor's U.S. operations, said a partnership with IBM that began in Canada has been extended southward and will soon result in significant sales for the number three global player in the industry. Despite its lofty status abroad, Wincor Nixdorf hasn't duplicated its strength in Europe in the U.S., where NCR and Diebold dominate the top spots.

The timing of Wincor's efforts to capture market share in the U.S., Hackl said, couldn't be better. He points to the increased popularity of advanced functionality features, a core advantage of Wincor machines, as a key indicator. But the big factor is IBM's participation in sales efforts in the U.S.

"We have to come in and be different," Hackl said. "We're going into a mature market, but we haven't had partners like IBM before. In the last few months, there's been a change in the market. People saw us as a novelty, but now see us as a global player."

In fact, the company's status on the global scene has been rising steadily since the early 1990s. In 1994, as Siemens Nixdorf, the company ranked 12th among global suppliers. In five years, it has risen to the third spot on that list.

For Wincor in the U.S., there's really only one way to go - up. The Nilson Report said Wincor shipped just 117 of 50,153 machines in the U.S. in 1999. But that, of course, was before an American investment group bought the company in October 1999. The company announced deals with a few deployers in the States last year, including the Texas-based Bailey Group and Oregon-based National Equipment Providers LLC. 

Lindsay Hunt, Self-Service Business Executive for IBM, said customer response to the Wincor ATMs has been enthusiastic, especially when presented in tandem with a trusted name like IBM.

"When we see customers, they're familiar with the Wincor product and say it's a superior product," Hunt said. "They're looking for IBM to provide service."

Hunt said he expects to close several deals in the next few months, the result of an ongoing cooperative sales effort that began in late 2000.

Hackl said it will take time for that effort to pay off.

"We're committed to move up in market share," he said. "The U.S. is really just being launched."

As for Wincor's strategy for growth in a crowded market, Hackl believes a national trend toward increased functionality will work in his favor. Its new machines feature check scanning, print from cassette and Web-enabled solutions.And though Hackl acknowledges that Wincor has never led its sales pitches by pointing to price, he believes the value of the product line will appeal to buyers.

"Everybody sees ATMs today as a means of delivering strategy and differentiation in the market," he said. "The market is splitting. ATMs are moving to functionality with touchscreens and video. Some customers are expecting a more comprehensive set of transactions. The goal is to get more to happen at the terminal."

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