Gas crisis hits Trigema hard - Wolfgang Grupp: "I have a print shop that prints T-shirts and no money"
Created: 09/18/2022, 04:56
By: Sina Alonso Garcia
So far, entrepreneur Wolfgang Grupp has found a solution for every problem.
Now that the gas crisis is hitting his company Trigema with full force, he is completely at a loss for the first time.
Burladingen – He was never someone who lamented: Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp has always actively tackled problems and tried to eliminate them before they could take on a larger scale.
In view of the currently desolate economic situation, however, he too is at a loss.
“For 53 years I have tried to solve my problems on my own and adapt to change.
But now politicians are putting obstacles in my way that I can't clear away," says Grupp in an interview with
Focus
.
"Trigema has practically no chance at the moment."
Trigema is currently burdened the most by the exorbitantly increased gas costs.
As Grupp explains, in 2020 these still amounted to 1.2 million euros a year.
In 2021, the amount had risen to 2.4 million euros, as reported
by BW24
.
The extrapolation for 2022 shows that this year you will already end up with 12 million euros.
"That's ten times as much as two years ago!" says Grupp.
In his eyes, the rising energy prices are a “great catastrophe”.
For 20 years, Germany made itself dependent on Russia for energy - only to realize now that Putin is its biggest enemy.
Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp: sanctions against Russia are useless "because not everyone pulls together"
Since Grupp is 100 percent liable for his company's equity, he believes that Trigema might be able to hold out for a few more years.
"But I have a printing company that prints T-shirts and no money," he points out.
However, the entrepreneur does not see the need to make his products significantly more expensive because of the economic crisis.
Most recently, Trigema only raised this twice by three percent.
“A polo shirt costs 59 euros here.
For this you get a super quality from us, the shirt lasts for many years.
But I can't go any higher in terms of price, brands like Lacoste etc. are positioned there that can charge more."
Wolfgang Grupp, owner and managing director of the textile company Trigema.
© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa/archive image
Instead of supporting the sanctions, Wolfgang Grupp supports gas imports from Russia.
As far as the Ukraine war is concerned, he wants diplomacy above all.
“In my view, sanctions are useless because not everyone pulls together,” he says.
There has to be someone who can mediate.
"If I do good business with someone in my private life for so long and then we fall out, then I also ask that they be mediated."
Wolfgang Grupp worried: "We will definitely have a problem if our gas turbines fail"
Grupp has already thought a lot about gas alternatives.
"I commissioned the company Alois Müller in Memmingen, which specializes in this, to look for solutions away from gas for us.
You have now advised me to use an oil boiler," the Trigema boss told
Focus
.
"We ordered it immediately, but the delivery time is over a year!" In the meantime, making quick progress is utopian.
"We'll definitely have a problem if our gas turbines fail."
Grupp can also imagine hydrogen as a gas substitute.
"But we're talking about more than three years until we can use them to generate energy," he points out.
He usually solves problems immediately, as long as they are small.
"But unfortunately that's not possible here."
