With the opening of its US office in Anderson, South Carolina, enomyc is taking an important strategic step in international consulting. In an interview, founder Martin Hammer and Managing Director Franz A. Wenzel explain why local American consulting expertise is a key success factor for the US market, what differences between European and American corporate and work culture are decisive, and how enomyc will provide even more targeted support to medium-sized companies in their global core markets in the future.
Mr. Hammer, it has now been 22 years since you and Uwe Köstens founded what would later become enomyc. Could you have imagined back then that your company would one day expand into the US?
Martin Hammer: The USA has been a dream of mine since I was a child. After graduating from high school, I spent six months backpacking through the country—which was quite an adventure back then—and I continued to visit regularly because I worked for companies in Chicago and Houston, among other places. So I know and appreciate the American way of working and mentality. America has always been my life goal.
What conditions had to be met for you to be able to fulfill this dream now?
Martin Hammer: Consulting is a people business. We are very fortunate to have Franz on board, a long-standing US colleague who is also experienced in the German and European markets and who, as a native speaker, brings with him the relevant local color and a robust network.
Does that mean Americans only want to be advised by Americans?
Martin Hammer: In my opinion, the biggest mistake German entrepreneurs make is that, similar to politics, they want to export German standards and values to other countries. But that doesn't work. Different countries have different customs. Sales work differently and the entire business culture is different. That's why I don't believe that a German consulting culture can be successful in the US.
You grew up on both sides of the Atlantic and have delivered many projects for enomyc in Germany and across Europe. Do you share that view?
Franz A. Wenzel: Absolutely. Language—native or not—is only one piece. The real differences run through everything: how people think, their common experiences, how they approach work, expectations around vacation, and how they separate professional and private life. For me, those spheres overlap, and that’s how I’ve always represented enomyc. I’d say that’s my edge in projects: I bring a different way of thinking and operating to the table, and clients consistently see that additional pov as added value.
With the new location in Anderson, South Carolina, you have chosen a very special place for a number of reasons.
Martin Hammer: Our idea and our aim is to accompany our customers to where strategic decisions are made and implemented. Anderson offers the perfect conditions for this.
Franz A. Wenzel: The Upstate region of South Carolina—between Atlanta and Charlotte—is one of the most internationally connected industrial clusters in the United States. Nearly 600 international companies from more than 37 countries operate here, including around 140 German firms. BMW’s Spartanburg plant is one of them—and it’s the largest BMW facility worldwide and brings with it a long list of suppliers. Companies benefit from well-established, highly efficient logistics, including the Port of Savannah, one of the largest container ports in the U.S., and Atlanta’s Hartsfield–Jackson airport, the world’s busiest by passenger volume with over 100 million travelers annually. Finding qualified talent is comparatively straightforward in this ecosystem.
What exactly is your role there?
Franz A. Wenzel: As Managing Director, I’m the face and pace-setter for enomyc North America. I lead business development, PR, sales, pipeline management, and PMO, and I’m hands-on in delivery—either as an interim manager or in my focus areas of digital and technology.
Martin Hammer: We are ready to deliver immediately with two teams of four led by Franz. These teams bring together the key skills we need—local roots, legal expertise, and operational strength. This is scalable, which is exactly what our customers expect.
How will you staff projects locally?
Franz A. Wenzel: Not with consultants flown in from Germany. We’ll work with U.S.-based experts who bring proven turnaround experience—Chapter 11 processes, creditor negotiations, labor & union topics, and operations. Our principle is simple: local expertise instead of imported know-how. We combine European methodology with U.S. execution and tap into networks such as the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), the German American Chamber of Commerce South (GACC South), and the Upstate SC Alliance for talent and business development.
What is your approach to developing the U.S. market?
Martin Hammer: Franz is our spearhead for the American market. After 14 years at enomyc, he knows exactly how our methodology and our company work. That's why it's only logical that we are now taking this strategic step with our expansion in order to support our customers even more closely in their international core markets in the future. It's important to note that we currently have around 80 ongoing projects, 50 of which also involve activities in the US. Almost two-thirds of our customers have a US location. If we provide comprehensive support to customers in Europe, we may also have to solve a US problem—and do so locally.
How does that work exactly?
Martin Hammer: There are around 1,100 German and 300 Austrian companies in the North and South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia region. We serve these large customers, who are globally positioned. As I said, we are ready to deliver immediately with two teams. At the same time, Franz will also approach American customers who may have a problem in Europe that we can solve for them, whether it be customs duties or other issues. These two strands – I call them inbound and outbound business – are our strategic approach.
Franz A. Wenzel: My goal is to build and maintain bridges—between European companies with expansion plans and the U.S. market with its particular dynamism and pragmatism. We win by pairing strategic experience with execution strength and clarity. In short: European methodical rigor, American pragmatism — the best of both worlds.
Martin Hammer: Good point. When it comes to digitizing companies, America is in a much better position than Germany. Especially with new technologies that already exist in the US, we naturally want to continue developing through our local presence, not only with regard to specific processes, but for companies as a whole. I believe we still have a lot to learn in this area.
Which priorities will you focus on in the U.S. — in terms of industries and topics?
Franz A. Wenzel: We operate primarily in classic manufacturing industries — machinery, automotive, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and food & beverage. Content-wise, the scope is broad, with a clear focus on production and logistics. And we’re not just there to fix problems. We also support clients in planning and executing growth strategies: building new facilities, relocating production capacity, and more. Whether it’s winding down a plant here or ramping up a site in the United States — we deliver end to end, from a single source.
What is the goal you are pursuing with your expansion into the US?
Martin Hammer: If you look at the consulting market, there are the really big players, the global billion-dollar consulting firms such as McKinsey, BCG, FTI Consulting, Alvarez, and many others. However, there is no one below these billion-dollar corporations who takes care of small and medium-sized businesses the way we do in Germany. Either because they are only smaller, regionally active companies that operate from Germany and, at best, have an office in London, but are not in the US and certainly not in Asia – or because they are large corporate consultants. It is precisely this gap in the market, this middle segment, that we want to tap into, because of course there are also thousands of owner-managed SMEs in the US where we see good opportunities.
So your SME footprint, your strong track record in this area, is the USP you want to use to win people over?
Martin Hammer: Exactly. In addition, I think we can be very competitive in terms of price, because the price level for global consulting has exploded in the US in recent years. We won't sell on price, but I think that when you look at the overall package we offer, it's particularly attractive for German companies and corporate groups. Let me give you an example: We have a client, a German company with a subsidiary that has seven billion in sales and seven production sites, including in Poland, Czechia, China, and the US. We have been commissioned to handle the entire restructuring process. I can now tell this customer: We can provide you with everything from a single source, in all your markets, in Europe of course, but also in the USA. This approach is very well received by large German customers, because they have already chosen us for their German locations, they know our solid work, and now they don't have to look for new consultants for their foreign locations.
As I understand it, the US is not the end of your expansion plans. Is that correct?
Martin Hammer: I have been doing this work for 30 years. My stated goal is that by the end of the decade, we will cover all major economic hubs in such a way that we will hopefully be the only SME consultant able to deliver there.
Mr. Hammer, Mr. Wenzel, thank you very much for talking to us.
