As of: February 25, 2024, 5:10 a.m
By: Sina Alonso Garcia
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Trigema has been producing in Germany since 1919; many of its competitors have not survived the changing times.
According to ex-Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp, it is not the location that is to blame, but the entrepreneurs themselves.
Burladingen - While many textile companies have left Germany in recent decades, a 1,200-person company from Burladingen in the Swabian Alb is still holding on bravely: Trigema produces 100 percent in Baden-Württemberg - a unique selling point that attracts attention.
“If you are the last in an industry, you are automatically the biggest,” says ex-Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp.
For him, one thing is certain: a location is only as good as its entrepreneurs.
Founded in 1919, Trigema was taken over by Wolfgang Grupp in 1969.
The patriarch was at the helm of the company for more than 50 years before handing over leadership to his children in 2024.
But what has Grupp done differently than its competitors, some of whom have not survived the changing times?
In an interview with the stock market magazine
Der Aktionär,
the former Trigema boss gives answers.
“It can’t be”: Wolfgang Grupp rails against companies in the textile industry
When asked how entrepreneurship in Germany has changed since 1969, Grupp answers: “When I read in the newspaper today that filing for bankruptcy is a trivial offense and that people say: No problem, I'll quickly file for bankruptcy: That can't be done As examples he cites Klingel – a traditional mail order company from Baden-Württemberg that ceased operations in 2023, the mail order kings Quelle, Karstadt and Kaufhof, and the fashion company Peek & Cloppenburg.
“In principle, they ensured that textile production no longer takes place in Germany.”
In his more than 50 years as Trigema managing director, Wolfgang Grupp has experienced many upheavals in his industry.
© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
“We have to be able to produce everything in our high-wage country – just not cheap goods,” Grupp is convinced.
“We have to produce quality – not the cheapest car, but the best car.
Because our colleague in China does it cheaply.
We have to create the innovative product!” That’s why he is of the opinion: “If the location is talked badly about, then the entrepreneurs have failed!
They have made the location bad by producing the wrong products - and discussing a minimum wage is a shame for us entrepreneurs!
Because it goes without saying that I have to pay an employee the minimum wage.” He is also prepared to pay more if someone does more.
Wolfgang Grupp rejects the location discussion and offers a counterproposal
When it comes to the debate about Germany as a location, Grupp has a clear opinion: “Such discussions are bad.
We need quality products, we need innovative products.
And they have to be produced in Germany.” Trigema shows how it works: in a total of three plants in Baden-Württemberg, the textile manufacturer covers all production stages from the yarn to the finished product.
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The former Trigema boss always saw himself as an employer as having a responsibility towards Germany as a production location: “This is where I live, this is my home and this is where I have my first obligation,” said the entrepreneur.