Sustainably strong.Clear and innovative success.

How I filleted the ‘sacred cow’ of a plant manufacturer

It stank like hell in my parents' house. In my childhood bedroom, I had built a small biogas plant from a water canister, hose, cardboard and wood in front of the heating. The smell of various foul gases wafted down into the kitchen, where my parents were sitting, shaking their heads at their 16-year-old son and wrinkling their noses. But they left me alone in my room, among the shelves full of non-fiction books, children's encyclopaedias and Joachim Bublath's ‘100 Knoff-Hoff Experiments’. I pursued the questions with almost scientific accuracy: What produces more biogas? Sugar? Egg white? Egg yolk? Vegetable oils? How do I get the useless carbon dioxide out of the gas mixture? I wanted to find out. And, I found out. After a good three months, I had finished it, presented the results at school and burnt the biogas I had produced in the chemistry room with a blazing flame. That was in autumn 2001 and just one of my many childhood projects. Trying things out, experimenting, creating something new – that was always my thing.

Why sales?

I wanted to give this thirst for research a solid foundation. After leaving school in 2003, I moved out and studied mechanical engineering, gaining a doctorate in energy technology. This was followed by years in building air conditioning technology and the data centre world. But my dissatisfaction grew. Restricted by circumstances, I looked for exciting side projects. In 2019, I suggested to my boss that I set up a team for innovative processes. Instead, to my horror, he transferred me to sales. What had happened? I had probably talked too much and wanted to go to too many conferences and trade fairs. In the end, however, it was a stroke of luck. My boss realised that I could explain complex technical issues briefly and clearly, understand the customer's ideas and come up with suitable technical proposals. While the company's engineers were looking for the perfect result, it had to be quick, understandable and cost-effective for my customers. But at some point I realised that I lacked the freedom I had in my childhood bedroom. To be able to realise my ideas, I had to start my own business. In 2022, I took the plunge and resigned.

How does it stand on its own two feet?

I realised that this decision was absolutely right just under a year later when I filleted the ‘sacred cow’ of a young, innovative plant manufacturer. ‘How can I sell my system better?’ asked his boss. ‘My customers are waiting forever for a quote.’ Together, we broke the system down into standardisable modules and worked out the interfaces. His people can now easily combine these modules and create quotations quickly and reliably. ‘This also allows me to better focus on the next steps in the R&D department,’ he said at the end, his eyes shining. Like him, my customers come to me when they need a partner with unconventional ideas for greater sustainability.

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