In recent decades, Tettnang in the east of the Bodenseekreis district has grown into a centre for the electronics industry with around 2,000 jobs in this sector. One of the most successful companies in the field of electronics is wenglor sensoric. Dieter Baur, founder and managing director of wenglor, tells us about the secret of his success.
Mr. Baur, in the 1980s you discovered a gap in the market for optoelectronic sensors. What are optoelectronic sensors exactly?
Optoelectronic sensors are devices that can capture objects by means of light, triggering a control, switching or regulating function. In today’s highly automated industry they are indispensable. When we started out in 1983, there were already sensors like this on the market, but our goal was to develop new technologies and functional principles to enhance the performance and areas of application of these sensors. For example, we developed sensors that can measure distances precisely by integrating
laser technology. After that we included safety technology for personal protection and, in 2005, industrial image processing.
Your company has grown steadily. Many companies change their location when they expand. Did you ever consider moving away from Lake Constance?
When you live and feel at home in a region, you do all you can to stay there. Despite initial resistance, we acquired our current premises in 1989. But more importantly, a successful company needs dedicated employees and we had no problem finding these in Tettnang. wenglor’s employees are its most important asset. We can only be innovative and flexible and grow internationally if our staff are motivated and content.
Many companies in the region of Lake Constance complain about a lack of qualified staff. How do you cope with this challenge?
For companies like us that grow at a double-digit rate and in a region in which unemployment is not an issue, it can be difficult to find qualified employees. This is why we at wenglor decided to train our own staff. An estimated 50 percent of our employees are trained in-house. Is it a problem attracting people from further away to the more rural region of Lake Constance?
Of course you often hear that highly-qualified staff prefer conurbations like Munich or Stuttgart. On the other hand, there are also plenty of people who want to get away from them. At the moment, my impression is that a lot of people are moving out of the big cities. In addition, recreation and leisure are gaining in importance, and here, of course, we can offer an extremely high quality of life.
Many companies were hit hard by the recession last year. How did wenglor cope with the crisis and what are your prospects for the next few years?
We felt the crisis as well. We make products for the capital goods sector, in particular mechanical and plant engineering. This market has experienced a considerable slump in the last two years, and that had an impact on us too. With a view to the future, I have a positive outlook and I think that with creative talent and intelligence and new ideas, we will be able to launch
new pro-ducts onto the market and sell them worldwide for many years to come. I don’t like it when people criticize the whole time. As a business man, I have to act if things don’t go the way I want. That’s the only way to change things. Otherwise you may as well accept the situation. There’s nothing in-between.
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