Becoming a global company

Now 125 years old, the Stiegelmeyer-Group is one of oldest-established German companies, outlasting many famous traditional brands such as BMW and Haribo. What is the secret to that success?

Anja Kemmler: The Stiegelmeyer Group has been family-run right from the start. The company has always played a major role in all our family's decisions. It never lacked solid financing – and a willingness to change has always been there. We adjust to new conditions in the best possible way and remain focused on the essentials. Our competent team is just as important as the appropriate product selection. There is no single secret to a long success story; it takes many factors acting together. Naturally, it also takes a tiny bit of luck to be in the right place at the right time.

The von Hollen-Kemmler family first became involved with the company when your great-granduncle Dietrich von Hollen became managing director in 1920. Is there a tradition of old stories and anecdotes in your family that have been passed down from generation to generation?

AK: Unfortunately not, though I would love to say yes. My grandfather Hans von Hollen joined the company at a fairly late stage, taking over from my great-granduncle. My mother, Barbara von Hollen, was already an adult at that time and on her way to Switzerland, where our family lives today. Consequently, there were no dinner table anecdotes. Later on, we revived this tradition with our own company chronicle, which is now being published in a new, up-to-date edition in time for the anniversary. It was a matter of great importance to my father Max Kemmler and me to have the history of our company set down in writing. The complete collection of documents on the history of Stiegelmeyer is stored in our archives in Herford.

Great anniversaries come in 25-year cycles. Mrs Kemmler, you already had the honour of celebrating Stiegelmeyer's 100th birthday in 2000. How has our company changed since then?

AK: Stiegelmeyer went through a makeover. The return of the shareholder family to the management board has brought about many changes. We have modernised our locations and invested in the company's orientation towards the international market. Beginning with France in 2000, five subsidiaries have been established worldwide, from Finland to South Africa. The Stiegelmeyer-Group has embraced a new corporate culture, a modern strategy and up-to-date ways of communicating internally and externally to help it grow into an international team of equals.

Georgios Kampisiulis Kemmler: We have achieved a great deal, but we still have quite a long road ahead of us, particularly with regard to the creation of a global corporate culture. It is essential that we do not always assume the German perspective, instead developing a deep understanding of the requirements of our colleagues and partners in other countries. I am hoping for an international standard for our company that incorporates a shared philosophy and uniform appearance. 

Five years ago, Stiegelmeyer proclaimed the ‘Golden Twenties’. Covid came shortly afterwards, then the war in Ukraine began. The impression many people have today is that our present time is nothing but crises. How does the Stiegelmeyer Group deal with this?

AK: I'm worried that Germany is stuck in the breakdown lane of global economy. Over-regulation in the EU is harming small and medium-sized businesses, and this is a major challenge for our company.

GKK: It is Germany itself that is standing in the way of its economic policy and bureaucratisation. Nevertheless, I would not describe the current situation as exceptional. Companies are constantly confronted with challenges – for example, 2003 was a very tough year for Stiegelmeyer. Crises and wars are circumstances largely beyond our control. Our task is to come to terms with this and find solutions which will enable us to be successful nonetheless.

One current example of the economic challenges we face is the threat of trade conflicts due to US tariffs and the expected counter-tariffs. Stiegelmeyer does not sell any products in the USA, however, competitors either sell there or are US-based. What consequences do you expect for the market segment of medical beds?

GKK: The first thing to do is to wait and see if the US is not just constructing a threat scenario to achieve certain goals, and in the end the tariffs won't materialise at all. The other is that US economy is so dominant that many countries cannot afford to impose counter-tariffs of the same amount. Yet if Mexico were to impose tariffs on US imports, it could give us a short-term price advantage. On the other hand, competitors faced with high tariffs on exports to the US could shift their focus on to Europe or Asia instead, thereby further increasing the competitive pressure there. Overall, though, I wouldn't overplay the trade war issue. This situation may be completely different in a year's time. 

From the current perspective, which countries offer particularly good opportunities for our company?

GKK: We are currently successful in Norway, for example, and in the countries of South-East Europe in collaboration with our Austrian partner ZS Medizintechnik. These successes are often based on certain large projects and cannot yet be reliably sustained in the future. Our goal is to achieve the same level of consistency and trust-based customer relations in foreign markets that we enjoy on our German home market. We are on the right track in the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Poland and South Africa, where we have built up a name for ourselves and reached a stable position that will facilitate further growth. This also applies to France, where, after 20 years of intensive work, we have now achieved a promising breakthrough by winning an important tender. No matter what the market, it is essential that we continue our work with all the effort, there is no time to sit back and relax. This is also the case in our key region of Latin America, where we are currently committed to building a retail network.

Let's move on from the markets of the future to the products of the future. Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently considered the most significant technological development. More and more products, from cars to washing machines, incorporate AI functions. Medical beds will soon follow?

AK: Artificial intelligence is particularly interesting for our internal processes. We already use it here, and it will support us even more in the future, from construction and development to letter writing. When it comes to our products, I consider AI in today's state of the art as applicable only to a limited extent, but I look forward to the coming years with excitement. In fact, our developers have already been inspired into thinking about the bed of the future simply by dealing with AI. Our new chronicle features an interesting chapter on this topic.

GKK: After all, a bed is still a bed. People will lie in it, and it won't float. Time will tell what is technically possible and in demand worldwide. Let's consider the example of autonomous hospital beds: I believe that this would be possible – however, patients being moved from one place to another in ward beds is a very German or Swiss phenomenon. On a global scale, interest in such an innovation would probably be low. I assume that people will continue to be cared for by people in the future, and not by robots. However, AI has the potential to provide support when it comes to more menial tasks, such as distributing meals – or as a simultaneous translator when residents and caregivers speak different languages.

In terms of digitalisation, our company is already well positioned with the Connectivity Lab in Herford and offers modern out-of-bed systems, for example.

AK: I am convinced that connectivity delivers real added value, though the market is not always ready to pay for it yet. This development requires much more time than we and our competitors originally assumed.

GKK: When it comes to connectivity in healthcare, the situation is similar to that of electric cars: state funding is needed to drive the issue forward. Once the funding is cut, interest declines as the benefits alone lack sufficient appeal. The moral of the story for us is to stay alert to digitalisation and not miss anything, but at the same time not to become dependent on it and always offer an alternative.

Let's dare to take a look ahead to our 150th anniversary in 2050. What are our goals by then?

AK: Consistent growth and success in our international focus markets are crucial. I am confident that the Stiegelmeyer-Group, with its reputation as an attractive employer and a good training organisation, will continue to attract skilled minds to help us achieve these goals. The next 25 years will show to what extent our three sons, as the next generation of our family, assume responsibility in the company. In this regard, we continue to follow our usual approach: we do not exert any pressure. Our responsibility is to send well-rounded, responsible and happy young people out into the world. Everyone should be able to pursue the education they want. We are optimistic that interest in Stiegelmeyer will be present. Good prerequisites are already in place. Our eldest son is studying Banking & Finance, and our second son is currently doing his A-levels and is interested in studying mechanical engineering afterwards.