“Starnberg is our home”
Created: 06/15/2022, 13:02
Everyone celebrated with us: The Starnberg electrical company Saegmüller just turned 75 years old.
Today's owner Gerd Zanker (centre, white shirt) and former owner Hans Saegmüller (on the left) celebrated with the entire workforce.
Photo: Saemüller © Saemüller
From energy management to "smart home" and security technology, the Starnberg electrical trade company Saegmüller, one of the largest in the Munich area, is innovative.
Groundbreaking work in the company's 75-year history form a stable basis.
Starnberg
– bosses shape their companies.
At Saegmüller, the signature of the founder can still be seen today.
On the occasion of an anniversary celebration for the 75th anniversary of the Starnberg electrical trade company, sole owner Gerd Zanker has recently put personal things into a lively poem.
The founder of the company, Hans Saegmüller senior, was strongly oriented towards Munich.
The company Knorr- Bremse in particular was an "affair of the heart" for him: "Even in old age he was clear: I want to drive to Knorr- Bremse every morning."
In the next generation, Hans Saegmüller junior's main field of work was the district of Starnberg: "You follow every interesting address with particular interest," Zanker called out to him.
Saegmüller, an important part of Starnberg's economic history, has also become a sought-after specialist far beyond the local area.
The sales are corresponding, even if Zanker does not want to give exact figures.
He described the earnings situation as follows: The company was “economically successful and independent of banks”.
Customers such as Knorr- Bremse, Pro7 and FC Bayern Munich stand for long-term relationships.
Zanker sees reasons for loyalty in the lively interest in technically demanding tasks and innovations as well as high service quality.
Major projects - such as a planetarium in Andechs decades ago with a height-adjustable starry sky - made the Starnberg company famous a long time ago and paved the way far beyond the traditional image of a manual electrical company.
Gerd Zanker, 54 years old and "happily married for many years", worked his way up to the top of Saegmüller after completing his training in 1987.
He also allowed insights into this in the poem.
Hans Saegmüller senior ordered him to his office every Friday and probed: What is that for?
Who has ordered that?
Do we still have that much money?
But finally the time had come: in 1998 Zanker became managing director and in 2011 sole owner.
With his team of currently 108 employees from 13 nations, he sets new trends.
A wide range of employees with "young and old in balance" makes great know-how in the entire electrical engineering directly available.
Everyone should also feel responsible as a co-entrepreneur, says Zanker.
He considers very good wages to be just as important as social commitment: "We also look at those who are weaker and act if necessary."
The company has trained more than 400 apprentices in its 75-year history.
There are currently 24 trainees, Saegmüller has gained many more this year, two places are still available for September 2022.
"There's nothing else to do," says the boss: "If you can't get anyone from outside, we have to take care of our offspring ourselves."
How will the location look in the future?
Gerd Zanker leaves no room for doubt: "Starnberg is our home and we remain true to it."
Lorenz Goslich
