Quietly, VWR plays key role in region's research

From beautiful office space in Radnor, Manuel Brocke-Benz, 56, heads an 8,700-employee, $4.4 billion company that's a market leader in its field.

Ever heard of VWR International L.L.C.?

"We are a little hidden," acknowledged Brocke-Benz, "And there's nothing wrong with that, to be very frank, because I know our potential customers and suppliers, and they all know us."

VWR essentially supplies labs - mostly with equipment, but also with people and services. On the equipment side, it distributes equipment made by others; customers know that VWR chooses its vendors carefully. The company also sells private-label equipment.

On Oct. 2, VWR's profile increased when it went public.

"Because we are getting more visible, it might be easier to attract people," he said. "That's the biggest challenge for all companies."

Question: Can you find the talent you need in Philadelphia?

Answer: Absolutely. There are a lot of universities here that churn out very talented people. The biggest challenge we have going forward, not short-term but midterm, [is] building a strong bench of people that can function in a world that is becoming more complex. It's really not those narrow specialists that you need.

Q: For a while it looked as if research dollars were being trimmed - and that would pose a problem for VWR. What's happening with that now?

A: You hear a lot of chatter about it. Also, in pharma, you hear about consolidation and off-shoring research. But the reality is that people are having more diseases and there are many unanswered research projects out there. We don't have a cure for cancer. We don't have a cure for arthritis, Alzheimer's. A lot of diseases only become relevant because people get older, so I don't really see a way out of doing more research to find solutions. You see pharma laying off people, but they might ship them to [contract research organizations] or they are working with academia. So you have a net [increase] of research organizations rather than the big pharma entities.

Q: So more labs need supplies?

A: In general, of course, it is easier to sell to one entity. On the other hand, they have a bigger leverage with you, so your pricing isn't as favorable.

Q: You commute home to Germany. Do many Germans have hyphenated names?

A: [My wife] is only Benz. When we got married, we took Benz as a family name. My kids are all Benz. I'm the only Brocke-Benz. So, I'm a modern guy. Brocke was my maiden name.

Q: Why did you do that?

A: We felt that the Benz name, like Mercedes-Benz, is a nicer family name. Actually, I made a deal with her. I'm a big Peanuts fan. I loved it since my childhood. We made the deal that we'd take Benz as a last name and if we have a son, his [middle] name will be Linus. So we have a Christopher Linus.

Q: Lately, VWR has gone into the business of providing lab personnel. How's that going?

A: We're not a body shop, very clearly, and we will not compete on lower wage. We help the customer streamline the lab efficiency by putting people on our payroll.

Q: How so?

A: If you are a lab owner in a classic pharma company, you are protective of your own lab. So if somebody says, 'Can I borrow [a] technician?,' you think, 'I might need him for my next project.' So it's not going to happen. If [instead] you say, 'I'm a service provider and all that counts is that the test gets done,' you can drive a lot of efficiency.

Title: Since January 2013, CEO and president, VWR International L.L.C. With VWR since 1987.

Family: Wife, Beate Benz; children Christopher Linus Benz, 24, Charlotte Benz, 21.

Homes: Bensheim, Germany; Wayne.

Loves, Misses: U.S. supermarkets, German breads.

Favorite team: SC Freiburg, a soccer team.

Diploma: Law at Albert-Ludwigs University.

Saturday mornings in Wayne: Eating breakfast, watching soccer. The German soccer league airs in the morning due to time differences. EndText

Business: Global provider of laboratory products, services.

Headquarters: Radnor.

Ticker: "VWR," began Nasdaq trading Oct. 2.

Employees: 8,700 globally, 430 in Radnor.

2014 revenues: $4.4 billion (projected).

FYI: Owns Edmund Scientific, formerly based in Barrington, Camden County. 

History: Founded in 1852 in California to sell glassware, lab supplies to gold miners. Variety of owners, including Merck KGaA in Germany, which sold VWR in 2004.

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VWR's CEO on what it's like to try out for the top job. www.philly.com/jobbingEndText