[ad_1]
It was news that caught the eye in late April: Heating engineer Viessmann started producing fans, and gas wall heater production lines are used. However, this short-term entry into medical technology was less complicated and time consuming than it seems. “These are routines that are so deeply embedded in the Viessmann family that it wasn’t really something special for us,” said co-chief Max Viessmann on the podcast “The Hour Zero” (Capital, star, n-tv). “It was special to venture into medical technology and not seem arrogant there.” Otherwise, however, one finds an “existing operating system” in the family business, “enriched with passion.”
“At the end of the day, that’s just culture: I recognize a problem. I find a solution,” said Viessmann. The developers of the product had the first prototype after three days. The device was developed after three weeks. It was all “totally remarkable and a great effort on the part of everyone involved,” reports Viessmann in his first major interview since closing.
2022 return to pre-crisis level?
In addition to ventilators, Viessmann began manufacturing mobile supply stations, masks, and disinfectants during the crisis. The builder of the heating system received advice from the RWTH Aachen medical school, among other things, on the rapid process.
Thanks to this culture, Viessmann has so far dominated the crisis very well. “Culture is the greatest competitive advantage you can now build on,” said Viessmann, who moved to the Allendorfer family business in 2017 at the age of just 29, who employs 12,300 people in 74 countries. The crisis is also an opportunity, that is in the DNA of the company. In the last financial year, Viessmann had increased sales by 6.4 percent to 2.65 billion euros. Viessmann did not want to make a forecast for this year, but the recovery of the general economy would take time. “I think the predictions that we will return to pre-crisis levels in 2022 are understandable from a macroeconomic perspective.”
Businesses need staying power
Viessmann said that especially companies with staying power and clear values will benefit: “They don’t have to explain for long, ‘Why do we really do that?’, It’s not just about survival.”
Max Viessmann cited climate change as an example of long-term thinking. The crown “gains insanity” in relevance and meaning, even if this is not currently visible to everyone. He discussed the connection between death rates and air quality, as well as emissions, particularly in the United States. “This is one more reason why we cannot let go there, not only because of the responsibility of future generations.”
As a second example, Max Viessmann cited digitization, which he himself had promoted in the traditional 103-year-old company. Viessmann will adhere to this, as will the “engine room,” a platform for midsize companies that the company is building in Berlin. It is wrong, Viessmann said, to cut budgets now, and that also applies to politics, which must continue to push the issue forward.
In the new podcast “Zero Hour: The way out of the crisis in Germany,” the capital’s editor-in-chief, Horst von Buttlar, talks closely to people experiencing the crown crisis and its economic fallout. All episodes can be found on Audio Now, Apple Podcasts, Deezer, Soundcloud, and Spotify. You can use the RSS feed for all other podcast applications. Take the feed URL and simply add “Zero Hour” to your podcast subscriptions.
