Vorwerk Worldwide

The Jubilee Magazine
Short Line to the Customer
Success Factor Direct Sales
125 Years of Vorwerk
Commitment Pays
From Carpet Factory to
International Corporate Group
A Career with Vorwerk
Vorwerk Worldwide
125 Years in Touch with People
125 Years of Vorwerk. The Jubilee Magazine
EDITORIAL
Continuity, Change
and the Personal Touch
Carl Vorwerk
1883
Dr. Jörg Mittelsten Scheid
2008
“125 Years of Vorwerk”
It is the anniversary of an entrepreneurial idea and its development. It is the anniversary of a family company that has
continuously changed and reinvented itself over the 125 years
since it was established by Carl Vorwerk. And it is an anniversary founded on such values as trust, courage, respect and
openness to innovation.
Here at our Vorwerk family enterprise, we have always been
good at combining great continuity with a constant willingness to embrace change. The Mittelsten Scheid family, the
group owners, will continue to safeguard that continuity and
at the same time to boldly tread new paths wherever necessity
dictates.
Willingness to embrace change is an attribute that runs like a
leitmotif through our family history. Our embarking on direct
sales in 1930 is a fine example of this. Which bank or shareholder, after all, would have financed such a step?
Today Vorwerk generates sales in the region of 700 million
euros with the Kobold alone. And the direct sales launch of
the Thermomix, a virtually unknown kitchen innovation in
the 1970s, was also a risky venture – and one that has paid off
exceptionally well, when you consider the annual 400,000
appliances we sell today. And taking over the U.S. American
JAFRA Cosmetics in 2004 (a company providing jobs for
500,000 consultants and dealing in what were, at the time,
foreign products in a foreign culture for Vorwerk) also
seemed a bold step to some – and yet that decision turned
out to be one of the family’s best.
However, 125 years of Vorwerk are also, and primarily, an
excellent reason to say thank you: to our employees in
administration, production and the service companies, and to
our sales advisers, representatives and consultants all around
the world. You are what shape this company and make it
successful and to you we owe a special vote of gratitude. This
125th Vorwerk anniversary is also and most especially your
anniversary!
Yours,
Dr. Jörg Mittelsten Scheid
Advisory Board Chairman, Vorwerk & Co. KG
4
August-Mittelsten-Scheid-Haus, the Vorwerk
group headquarters in Wuppertal:
a photo dating from 1955.
5
CONTENTS
Page 8
All around the world, people are working hard
to make Vorwerk a continuing success story.
4
Editorial:
Continuity, Change and the Personal Touch
People
10
The Owner Family Mittelsten Scheid
55
“Vorwerkers” over Generations
Part of the Family
Worldwide
8
12
6
The World of Vorwerk at 10 in the Morning
Interview:
“125 Years in Touch with People”
16
Success Factor Direct Sales:
Short Line to the Customer
20
125 Years of Vorwerk: From Carpet Factory
to International Corporate Group
56
A Career with Vorwerk:
Commitment Pays
58
Vorwerk Academy: Create (y)our future
60
International Teams:
When Different Cultures Work Together ...
Page 20
125 years of Vorwerk:
milestones in the
company’s history.
Page 66
Divisions
Vorwerk supports SOS Children’s Village all over the globe.
26
Kobold: One for All
30
JAFRA Cosmetics:
The Power to Transform Lives
34
Thermomix:
Perfect Partner for Good Food
40
Lux Asia Pacific: Cleanliness and Freshness
43
Feelina Ironing System: Ironing in Half the Time
44
Engineering:
Uncompromising Quality
46
Carpets: “New | Room | Feeling”
48
HECTAS:
Spotless Career
50
akf group: Partnering Mid-Scale Businesses
Innovation
62
Product Development: Added Value Through New Ideas
64
Product Design:
A Deciding Factor
Social Responsibility
52
Family Manager:
The Most Important Job in the World
59
Fundraising Campaign Organized by and for “Vorwerkers”:
The Vorwerk Group Sticks Together
66
Vorwerk Family Fund:
Committed to Helping Children in Need
68
Joint Foundation anstiftung & ertomis:
Ideas for a Humane Future
Page 34
Thermomix:
the indispensable
kitchen aid.
Page 30
Page 46
Quality cosmetics and competent advice from JAFRA.
Vorwerk carpets create a “New | Room | Feeling”.
7
WORLDWIDE
The World of Vorwerk
... at 10 in the Morning
In the customer’s home, the research laboratory, on the assembly line and in many other workplaces,
there are more than 550,000 people contributing their efforts to Vorwerk’s success. We stopped the
clock and took a minute to glance over their shoulders.
Spain
Quick and tasty: Representative
Ana González soon has her customers
convinced of the advantages the
Thermomix offers.
U.S.A.
Only the best for your skin:
Jianchun Zhang tests the quality of
cosmetics at the JAFRA research
laboratory in Westlake Village, U.S.A.
T
hese people make sure that
JAFRA cosmetic products are
absolutely dermatologically
safe, work with top precision to guarantee the outstanding quality of Kobold
vacuum cleaners, advise customers on
their ideal skin care, clean buildings,
oversee the management of entire
ve-hicle fleets, work on the latest carpet
collections or delight customers with
their demonstrations of the many
advantages of the Thermomix or
the Feelina Ironing System. All over
the world, the people who work with
Vorwerk play a key role in the global
growth and success of Vorwerk with
their input: their ideas, their dedication and their motivation. The success
story continues – even during this
one minute.
8
Italy
Mexico
Perfect care: The skin gets
just the care it needs at a
JAFRA class.
Bit by bit: At the Folletto
facility in Arcore, Brigatti
Ivano assembles accessory
parts for the Kobold with
great precision and
concentration.
Poland
Germany
Germany
All clear: Teresa Stelmach of Hectas
makes everything gleam.
Perfect service: akf consultant
Barbara Hennecke helps a
customer over the phone.
Germany
André Breker sets up
one of the carpet looms
at Vorwerk Carpets.
Ironing done in half the time:
Monika Stein demonstrates
the advantages of the Feelina
Ironing System.
China
Powerful dust buster. Kobold
sales adviser Xiaoli Cheng explains
what makes the Vorwerk vacuum
cleaner such a top performer.
Taiwan
Italy
Clean and fresh: Sales adviser
Mirko Pavoni demonstrates
the Kobold’s enormous suction
power to his customers.
Perfect rice soup: Team leader
She U Lu shows how it goes at
a Thermomix demonstration.
Thailand
On the move for clean water:
Pin Pakaew with the Lux Asia Pacific
water purifier system, Alva.
Indonesia
On their way to a customer:
Mijan and Priyo Cahyono in Jakarta
all ready for a demonstration.
9
PEOPLE
Our Best for Vorwerk
The Owner Family
Mittelsten Scheid
The Vorwerk brand is known to millions of people around the globe. Yet only very few are aware that the company
has remained in the hands of a single family to this day. For over 100 years, the “Vorwerks” have been called
Mittelsten Scheid. Like few other families, they embody “their” company. And it is with continuity and fresh ideas
that they have transformed it into an international corporate group .
W
For 40 years he put his personal stamp on an
hen company founder Carl Vorentire Vorwerk era with “motivation, humor,
werk was looking for a successor in
enthusiasm and pleasure in what the
1904, he decided on his son-in-law,
company produces.”
August Mittelsten Scheid, who came from an
old-established Wuppertal textile company
himself. His family had already been successContinuity and Willingness to
fully manufacturing ribbons and borders for
Embrace Change
some generations. August Mittelsten Scheid
took up the challenge – and made Vorwerk
At the same time, Dr. Jörg Mittelsten
the brand name of the Mittelsten Scheid
Scheid embodies like no other the family’s
family.
August Mittelsten Scheid receives
style of leadership, which has always ensured
In the ensuing period, three different
Germany’s Federal Cross of Merit
the company’s great continuity. This is due
generations would stand at the company’s
in 1954 on the occasion of his 50th
anniversary with Vorwerk.
to its willingness to embrace change. For
helm. After August, it was his sons Werner,
Dr. Jörg, as he is known to employees, entrewho brought back the idea of direct sales
preneurial creativity and new ideas are the prerequisites for a
from the U.S.A. but sadly died as early as 1953, and Erich, who
dynamic operation. “A goal that doesn’t make your heart beat
headed the company into the late 1960s, introducing broad
faster, doesn’t create a light-bulb effect, possibly even trigger
diversification and a new structure. Then it was the turn of
amazement or delight, will never spark the energies necessary
Jörg, Werner’s son and August’s grandson, to lead the company.
“The family businessman thinks in a long-term
context because he is less concerned with rapidly
increasing the value of the company than with
being able to pass it on to the next generation.”
Dr. Jörg Mittelsten Scheid
Chairman of the Advisory Board
10
We manage a large and successful family enterprise:
The Mittelsten Scheid family today numbers 46, 19 of whom are company shareholders.
Five of them are members of the Advisory Board.
at the top – capabilities and inner convicto totally motivate people.” The Mittelsten
tion are the deciding factors. In the same
Scheids have never been short of such
way, unconventional thinking and social
ideas. From the creation of the first Kobold
responsibility have always had their place
to the introduction of direct sales, entry
with the Mittelsten Scheids. Each contriinto new markets by opening up and reorbutes whatever he or she can give to the
ganizing the company through to the
company. That’s how, over the years, a
internationalization and transformation of
corporate culture has evolved with which
the medium-sized company into a global
not only the family, but also the people
corporate group – in every generation,
who work with Vorwerk can identify.
their innovative strength and entrepreneurial pluck have set developments in
motion that opened up new perspectives
Decisions “from the middle”
for the company.
The ability to combine such innovative
But maybe their name also has somespirit with a long-term corporate policy is
thing to do with the Mittelsten Scheids’
the true secret of the Mittelsten Scheids’
Werner Mittelsten Scheid managed the
becoming the pillar of calm stability
success. That’s because sustainable corpocompany alongside his brother Erich from
1943 until 1953.
throughout the company’s eventful
rate management has always been and still
history. In the 16th century, namely, the
is the principle objective, and an objective
“Mittelste Scheid” was the middle part of
backed by every member of the family –
a family estate that was divided three ways and the one inherieven those not involved in the active management of the comted by the family’s present line from their ancestor Hans op
pany. “What unites us is the feeling that in case of doubt we
tem Scheide. The family’s cohesion and faith in the company
would place the needs and necessities of the company before
form the basis of a development that has been in progress for
our own,” says Jens Mittelsten Scheid, Erich’s son and
125 years.
Jörg’s cousin, describing the family’s sense of collective
The family has given the Vorwerk brand a great deal: a
responsibility.
new face, a portfolio of top-quality products, an international
direction and a living tradition – in fact, the only thing the
Room for unconventional thinking, too
Mittelsten Scheids have preferred to keep to themselves is
their name.
Exactly how that works is very well illustrated by Jens
Dr. Dr. h.c. Jörg Mittelsten Scheid, who guided the company’s fortunes from
Mittelsten Scheid’s personal history. He himself has never sat
1969 until the end of 2005, today chairs the Advisory Board.
on the Executive Board. After a one-year internship at Vorwerk,
he decided against following in his father’s footsteps and in
favor of studying philosophy. Today he does his bit by contributing his talents to the anstiftung & ertomis foundation and
also by serving on the Advisory Board of the Vorwerk group.
So there is no pressure on a particular family line to continue
Dr. Erich Mittelsten Scheid was managing partner from 1943 until 1969.
11
WORLDWIDE
Interview
“125 Years
in Touch with People”
In the 125 years since 1883, Vorwerk has come a long way: from a carpet factory to a highly diversified, international
corporate group with 2.3 billion euros in business volume and 566,000 employees and sales advisers worldwide.
Jürgen Hardt, Senior Vice President, Vorwerk Public Relations, talked with the Chairman of the Advisory Board,
Dr. Jörg Mittelsten Scheid, and the Managing Partners, Achim Schwanitz and Peter Oberegger, about the reasons
for Vorwerk’s success and asked them to share their vision of the group’s future.
12
“That is precisely why we are growing: Because we are committed to
preserving our personal touch and
giving people what they want.“
Dr. Jörg Mittelsten Scheid
Chairman of the Advisory Board
Jürgen Hardt: Gentlemen, you represent three generations
of executive management at Vorwerk. What do you see as
being this anniversary’s central focus?
Achim Schwanitz: 125 years, that’s a very long time and it
has made its mark on our company. In these 125 years, the
foundations were laid on which we build today: the different
divisions centered on our direct dealings with the customer,
Vorwerk’s diverse international activities and, last but not
least, our loyal and qualified employees and sales teams.
Peter Oberegger: What we can learn from our history is that
over the decades, Vorwerk’s distinguishing features have
been the group’s great adaptability and growth orientation.
By constantly changing and going new ways, we progress
and develop – and that is ultimately the key to our success.
Dr. Jörg Mittelsten Scheid: At the same time, Vorwerk has
preserved its family character. The Mittelsten Scheid family
is always right there behind the company, assuring its
independence and backing its forward-looking strategy.
Are there differences between family enterprises and
publicly traded companies?
Dr. Jörg Mittelsten Scheid: Family enterprises think about
the next generation, too, and so take a long-term view.
That has always been good for Vorwerk. Without the family’s
farsighted approach and its support, many of the decisions
that made Vorwerk great would not have been possible. One
instance of this is when we took the plunge into direct sales
in 1930, an entirely new concept for us back then. It was a
move that revolutionized the company, but at the time it was
regarded with great skepticism. Another example is our entry
into the direct sales market for cosmetics in 2004 through
JAFRA. Many people said, “We know nothing about it …”
My reply was that we do know something about people and
about taking a direct, personal approach with them. That’s
what counts.
And you have been proved right. JAFRA is highly
successful and has made excellent progress under Vorwerk
ownership …
Peter Oberegger: This is the message the anniversary holds
for the future: We are successful when we are bold and adaptable and respond appropriately to changes in the world and
13
WORLDWIDE
in our consumers. Had we stuck to making carpet, Vorwerk
would have long ceased to exist. Carpets is as much a part
of the company today as are our direct sales companies for
household appliances – Kobold, Thermomix, Feelina, the
water purifier Alva – and for JAFRA cosmetics. HECTAS
Facility Management and akf Financial Services make the
ideal complements to our portfolio because they, too, place
an emphasis on people. Vorwerk has a number of divisions,
each of them successful in its own field. At the same time,
all of our divisions operate internationally – from Japan to
Mexico. This structure offers great growth potential because
it enables us to profit from the positive development of
dynamic markets worldwide.
How does Vorwerk keep its bearings in times of change?
Achim Schwanitz: Whatever changes have taken place,
Vorwerk has always preserved its identity and its values. We
orient our corporate policy according to the five Vorwerk
principles. Our success depends on people, and that means
it depends on our customers, our sales teams and our
employees. Then there’s our high standard of quality – quality and performance matter. The customer rewards us with
loyalty to the brand and to the products. What’s more, we are
prepared to make changes and to accept progress and constantly strive to make our vision of dynamic and profitable
growth for our company a reality. We think and act in a longterm context – that’s part of our tradition as a family company. Vorwerk is committed to a sustainable corporate policy.
“Growth through change
– that is the key to our
success.”
Peter Oberegger
Managing partner
Peter Oberegger: Over the coming years, we will be doing
even more on this front. The Vorwerk principles my partner
just mentioned really do guide our daily activities. But
measuring our day-to-day dealings against these benchmarks
and finding answers to new developments that are in line
with our corporate principles is an ongoing task.
For example?
“Whatever changes have taken
place, Vorwerk has always preserved its identity and its values.”
Achim Schwanitz
Managing partner
14
Achim Schwanitz: For example, when it’s a question of
winning 21st century customers over to the Vorwerk products
and services. Many companies claim to make “the customer
their focus” but here at Vorwerk, that really is what we do
each and every day. Direct contact to the customer, that’s our
business model. Through direct contact, we help to satisfy an
important human need that exists worldwide. Many people
want personal contact, detailed information and service.
That’s why, in the future too, the world will hold tremendous
potential for our form of distribution, direct sales.
Peter Oberegger: In order to do even better in existing and
new markets, we should systematically implement the successful concepts of our strong sales companies when we expand
into new areas. Applying best practices is a golden rule that
helps us to penetrate new markets faster and more efficiently.
This calls for an intensive discussion of experiences across
national and divisional borders. Our international conferences and management programs serve this end.
How will Vorwerk look ten years from now?
Achim Schwanitz: Growth is the goal – step-by-step, profitable
growth. We have already defined the strategic areas of growth
that should help us to double our sales in ten years. Each
division must develop its own targets and define its own priorities. We want to have far more sales advisers and employees
around the world and to be able to offer them new opportunities for career development. Aside from Europe, we see
Asia and the Americas as becoming our future market base.
We will also be able to report thriving business activities in
India, Brazil and Russia in 2018. In Europe, we will then –
I hope – be the market leader in home care not only in
Italy, as we are today, but also in many other countries.
The Thermomix will continue to conquer markets outside
Europe. Feelina will have, possibly with a modified sales
model, lots of satisfied customers. JAFRA Cosmetics will be
firmly established in many countries around the world and
Lux will be well represented with its water purifiers and
home care systems in large parts of Asia. HECTAS and the
akf bank will have a thriving European business in 10 years’
time. The number of people working with Vorwerk will have
crossed the one million threshold. And most importantly of
all: Everywhere in the world, there will be happy customers
and sales advisers who believe in Vorwerk and its products.
Dr. Jörg Mittelsten Scheid: That is precisely why we are
growing: Because we are deeply committed – sometimes
even counter to current trends – to preserving our personal
touch and giving people what they want.
Peter Oberegger: I am working to achieve within ten years
the goal outlined by Achim Schwanitz and backed by the
family and the Executive Board. My vision: In China we will
have a very large operation in 2018. There, as in the rest of
Asia, we will have become a well-known brand.
The Executive Board of the Vorwerk group (l. to r.):
Eberhard Pothmann (Finance), Jochen Sarrazin (Controlling),
Peter Oberegger (Managing Partner), Achim Schwanitz
(Managing Partner) and Wolfgang Bahlmann
(Human Resources and IT).
15
WORLDWIDE
Success Factor Direct Sales
Short Line
to the Customer
Some revolutions start off secretly and silently and sometimes they carry on the same way – but they’re still
revolutions. Vorwerk counts as a trailblazer in one such revolution, a form of selling that is a million-dollar business
today: direct selling. In just 80 years, Vorwerk has become the worldwide Number One in the direct sale of quality
products. But what’s behind the great success of this form of selling?
Better to shop conveniently at home than
spend ages searching
for the right product in
crowded stores.
The Direct Sales success story: Kobold sales
advisers in the 1960s (left) and a demonstration of the Bimby in Portugal (center). Right:
A Feelina adviser demonstrates the pleasant
job of ironing with the Feelina system.
16
A JAFRA consultation in the United States, water
analysis in Thailand or a Thermomix party in Taiwan –
it’s the personal touch that leads to success.
Intensive consultation
– that’s the great
advantage of direct
sales.
I
t all began with a shelf warmer. Back
in 1929, when Vorwerk invented the
Kobold, it was a technical sensation
because it was the very first example of
modern vacuum cleaning technology
that was light and handy, unlike it’s cumbersome predecessors. But that was also
its disadvantage because no one could
believe that such a small appliance could
be so efficient. Despite its attractive price,
the Kobold remained on the shelves like
a dead weight. Fortunately for Vorwerk,
Werner Mittelsten Scheid, the Vorwerk
founder’s grandson, brought the clever
business idea of direct selling back with
him from a trip to the United States.
The basic idea was that talking personally with customers and demonstrating
a product on the spot was the best way to
convince them of its advantages. What
started out as an emergency solution
would pave the way for a new industry.
Many products are sold direct today and
the industry is booming. With the
Kobold, the Thermomix and the Feelina
Ironing System, the water purifiers and
vacuum cleaners produced by Lux Asia
Pacific and the JAFRA cosmetics program, Vorwerk is prominently represen-
ted in direct sales. Some 530,000 consultants and representatives make Vorwerk
the world’s foremost direct seller of highquality household appliances and consumables today. The company generates
an annual business volume of over 2.3 billion euros. Thanks to its dynamic growth,
Vorwerk Direct Sales offers attractive job
opportunities and career openings for
sales advisers and representatives.
Opportunities for sales
advisers, advantages for
customers
Intensive consultation: That’s one way
to sum up the direct sales system because
it offers customers the chance to try out
products for themselves. And that’s not
all, direct sales cashes in on the advantages of other forms of selling without customers having to put up with the disadvantages involved. Instead of walking
around crowded stores, they can stay
comfortably at home and still discover for
themselves the quality and efficiency of a
product.
Generations of housewives have been
astonished to see how much dirt the
Kobold can extract from their carpet.
Even the best sales assistant at a store
would hardly be able to demonstrate such
outstanding performance. Retail stores
are often not in a position to provide qualified advice, particularly when it comes
to products that require explanation.
While the retail trade is increasingly cutting staff numbers and with them the level
of assistance customers receive, direct
sales companies constantly promote their
advisers’ competence by giving them training and further training specifically
developed to turn them into genuine product specialists.
Facts & Figures
Vorwerk, with its divisions, moves in a
growing global market and is one of
around 700 direct sales companies in
more than 50 countries around the world.
Together, they have a market volume
totaling 110 billion euros and provide
jobs for some 60 million sales advisers.
17
WORLDWIDE
Close contact with the customer in turn
leads to sales advisers and consultants –
and therefore the company – receiving
direct feedback about products, which
then flows straight into development.
Naturally, the products ordered are
delivered straight to the customer’s home
so there is no risk of the customer receiving the wrong or unsuitable articles.
What’s more, the quality of many of the
products which are sold direct is superior
to that of comparable retail products –
after all, customers are the toughest
testers. All in all, direct selling is on the
advance, worldwide, because it has many
advantages not only for the customer, but
also for the company.
Facts & Figures
Direct selling is firmly in female hands:
Around 84 percent of the sales advisers
in all European companies are women.
Many of them work part-time so that
they can strike the ideal balance between
their job and caring for their family and at
the same time earn some attractive extra
income.
“Good recommendations are our greatest
asset.”
Pepi Martin
Kobold sales adviser, Spain
18
And that’s not all. Vorwerk Direct Sales
offers some genuine career opportunities
for sales advisers. Self-discipline, a sociable disposition, flexibility, specialist
knowledge and enthusiasm for the product are the requisite qualities for success. But then there are literally no limits
to what sales advisers can achieve – irrespective of whether they prefer to work
full-time or opt for a part-time model that
gives them an attractive extra income.
Different forms of
direct selling
Vorwerk uses different forms of direct
selling around the world. There’s the classic door-to-door system, where a sales
adviser visits the households in a previously defined sales territory; the referral
system, which relies on personal recommendations for new contacts, and the socalled “party plan,” where a hostess invites a group of potential customers to her
home for a product demonstration.
Which form is used when and where
varies according to product and region.
In Spain and France, for instance, good
recommendations are the greatest asset
both for the Thermomix and the Kobold.
In other countries, on the other hand,
the classic door-to-door method is
favored, while demonstrations of products such as the Feelina Ironing System,
cosmetics from JAFRA and also the
Thermomix rely on the party plan.
It’s all about trust and the
right timing
Typical countries for door-to-door
business, where the sales adviser knocks
at the customer’s door, are Germany,
Austria and Italy as well as Asian countries, such as Indonesia, Thailand and
China. Cultural norms in Asia differ from
those in Europe, which means that different rules apply to the different sales
teams. The Vorwerk divisions naturally
each adjust their direct selling system to
fit cultural differences.
Direct selling is booming – worldwide.
There are more than 700 direct selling
companies operating in over 50 countries
People are happy to recommend good
products to others, and that’s what
the direct sales business thrives on:
with water purifiers in Vietnam (left)
and with the Kobold cleaning system
in Spain (center).
around the globe. The market volume in
2006 totaled some 110 billion euros and
was generated by around 60 million sales
advisors. There are great expectations
that Latin America, the Asia-Pacific
region and eastern Europe in particular
will see strong growth in the coming years
thanks to the tremendous market poten-
tial of the rising middle class there. Good
prospects are also seen in western
Europe, even though the markets will not
develop as strongly as before. Companies
wishing to assert their position in a competitive market will have to adopt new
sales strategies. For many companies
here, direct selling is an alternative with
A sociable disposition and
infectious enthusiasm –
these are the distinguishing
features of a good sales
adviser.
a future and as such will generally gain
significance as a sales form.
Good news for all our customers:
Many consumers see direct selling as the
ideal way to shop – convenient, easy, with
qualified assistance and a personal touch.
Being a “people person” is part of the job. Good sales advisers
and representatives have so much faith in their products, it rubs
off on their customers – the best prerequisite for successful sales.
Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures
Growth Capital for Innovative Direct Sales Operations
W
e back young start-ups with
innovative ideas in the business of direct selling – and we
are the only company to make this kind
of investment,” Dirk Meurer explains.
He is one of the two managing directors
of Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures.
Formed in 2007, the company invests
chiefly in young, fast-growing businesses.
“The individual investments we make are
in the region of half a million to five
million euros.
The main focus of our activities is
presently still in Europe; in the coming
years, Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures
also plans to increase its international
investments,” says Eberhard Pothmann,
a member of the Vorwerk Executive
Board and CFO of the Vorwerk group.
Both partners benefit from Vorwerk
Direct Selling Ventures’ interest: Young
companies gain a sound capital basis and
can draw on Vorwerk’s broad international experience and market know-how –
and thrive on that basis. Vorwerk, on the
other hand, profits via its investments in
those start-ups from the dynamic growth
of the global direct selling market.
“Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures is the
ideal partner for entrepreneurs wishing
to achieve their growth targets with a
long-term investor without relinquishing
control of their business,” says Norbert
Muschong, Managing Director of
Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures, summing up.
19
From Carpet Factory to
International Corporate Group
The Vorwerk Group
1883
1897
1908
Carl Vorwerk further develops the English
looms and applies for his own patent.
Soon after, production commences in the
company’s own machine shop.
The company celebrates its 25th
anniversary – by this time, Vorwerk
provides jobs for some 500 people.
1907
The brothers Carl and Adolf Vorwerk
found the Barmer Teppichfabrik
Vorwerk & Co. in Wuppertal on
April 21.
August Mittelsten Scheid, Carl Vorwerk’s
son-in-law, joins the company and
becomes sole managing partner.
1890
1880
1900
1910
The Vorwerk Products
1901
1909
Vorwerk patents a new, closely woven
carpet that Carl Vorwerk “invented” on
the chance discovery of a production error.
“Vorwerk” becomes a registered carpet
trademark, creating serious competition
for oriental carpets.
1883
1903
Production of high-quality
carpets commences.
Besides carpets, Vorwerk now
also sells its own looms.
Contemporary History
1886
1887
1895
1900
1903
Karl Benz builds the
first automobile.
The Statue of Liberty
goes up in New York.
Carl Gustav Röntgen
discovers X-rays.
The first 100,000 HP
steam engine is built.
The Wuppertal suspension
railway opens.
21
1920
1938
1943
The 1920s is a period of extreme
economic fluctuation – between
record profits and difficult phases.
Vorwerk Folletto, the first international Kobold
company, is founded in Italy.
The war puts a stop to direct sales.
The plant is almost completely
destroyed in an air raid. Dr. Erich
and Werner Mittelsten Scheid take
over management of the company.
1930
Werner Mittelsten Scheid
introduces direct sales – marking
a new chapter in the history of
the company.
1930
1920
1940
1929
1949
Vorwerk chief engineer Engelbert
Gorissen develops a small, hand-held
vacuum cleaner.
The one millionth Kobold is sold.
1930
A patent is taken out on the Kobold vacuum cleaner and sales
begin. Diverse accessories follow, including a hair dryer and a
grooming attachment for horses.
1914-18
1920
1927
1930
1939-45
First World War.
The radio takes the world by storm.
Lindbergh makes the first non-stop
flight from New York to Paris.
First Football World Cup
Championship is held in
Uruguay.
Second World War.
1968
1974
Vorwerk founds the
Wuppertal-based akf bank.
Vorwerk founds the facility
management company Hygienic
Service Gebäudereinigung und
Umweltpflege GmbH (today’s
HECTAS Gebäudedienste).
1953
1969
Following the death of his brother, Dr. Erich
Mittelsten Scheid heads the company alone.
Dr. Jörg Mittelsten Scheid
joins the Executive Board.
1950
1960
1970
1971
The “original Thermomix”
goes on the market.
Starting 1955
1981
Systematic expansion of the product lines floor care and kitchen appliances,
refrigerators and washing machines.
Market launch of the
Tiger cylinder vacuum cleaner.
1945
1953
1961
1969
1975
The United Nations (UNO)
is founded.
Mount Everest is conquered
for the first time.
The Berlin Wall goes up.
Neil Armstrong becomes
the first human being to
land on the moon.
The Peace Movement is formed
in Europe and the USA.
2001
2008
Lux Asia Pacific, headquartered
in Singapore, becomes part of
the Vorwerk group.
125 years of Vorwerk – with
some 560,000 sales advisers,
representatives, consultants and
employees all around the world.
1990
2004
2007
Vorwerk opens a branch in China; other
international branches follow in eastern
Europe – internationalization of Direct
Sales continues apace.
Since 2004, the U.S.-based JAFRA
Cosmetics has been a member of
the Vorwerk group. The company
produces and sells skin care
products, cosmetics and perfumes.
Vorwerk Direct Selling
Ventures starts up.
1980
1990
2000
1991
2008
2007
The hard floor polishing
appliance, Pulilux, comes out.
JAFRA Cosmetics launches
the Dynamics product line.
2001
2002
Vorwerk begins selling not only
vacuum cleaners, but also water purifiers,
washing machines and air purifiers in the
Asia-Pacific region.
Sales of the Feelina
Ironing System commence.
1981
1989
1996
2004
IBM presents the first
PC to the world.
Fall of the Berlin Wall.
Birth of Dolly the sheep, the
first mammal to be cloned.
Inauguration of the world’s highest
skyscraper in Taipeh (508m).
24
DIVISIONS
Kobold Vacuum Cleaner
One for All
Top quality, durability, a unique deep-cleaning system and high performance coupled with low wattage – these are the qualities
that make the Kobold the best in its class. Yet this iconic vacuum cleaner was originally born of necessity.
T
he Kobold is everybody’s darling
today, but the history of the highquality iconic vacuum cleaner
started with a crisis – and with an ingenious idea. When the market for gramophone drives went into decline with the
advent of the radio in the 1920s, Vorwerk
could no longer find buyers for its small
motors. But the company rose to the challenge with an innovative idea and a willingness to take a new direction. In 1929,
chief engineer Engelbert Gorissen designed a simple vacuum cleaner consisting
merely of a motor, a dust bag and a
Gleaming hard floors – brilliantly simple with the
Pulilux.
handle. A revolutionary invention because at that time, vacuum cleaners were
monstrous machines that had to be transported on horse-drawn carts and operated by two men! The hand-held vacuum
cleaner was patented in 1930, but “Modell
30” didn’t sell. Customers simply didn’t
trust the little vacuum cleaner to be a top
performer. In fact, it only became a
roaring success in the wake of a revolutionary import from America.
Werner Mittelsten Scheid, son of the
then company owner, came back from
the United States with the idea of selling
the product not through stores, but
where it would be used, in the customer’s
home. Direct sales – Vorwerk’s successful
sales concept – soon caught on and the
success story of the Kobold took its
course.
nook or cranny. And the innovative
strength of Vorwerk’s engineers remains
unbroken, as the latest generation of
vacuum cleaners demonstrates: They are
extremely energy-saving and equipped
with a highly effective filter system that
swallows up even the finest dust particles,
letting allergy sufferers breathe freely.
The Kobold has enjoyed cult status in
Germany for decades and it has already
been a long time since the Kobold family
began to take the international market
by storm, too. Today the green and white
appliances help family managers in many
European and Asian countries perform
their daily chores.
A success story takes its course
Very soon, the handy little helper had
conquered the hearts of women – and
many men, too. And no wonder, because
the “motorized broom” could be transformed in a jiffy into a hair or clothes
dryer, a perfume atomizer, insect killer or
a device for cleaning and grooming animals. Over time, Vorwerk adapted the
vacuum cleaner to the needs of modern
households by increasing its suction
power and producing new accessories.
Today, with the Kobold, Tiger, Pulilux
and co., Vorwerk produces a complete
household cleaning system that cleans
and cares for carpets, hard floors and
upholstery all the way into to the tiniest
26
Federico Materazzi
CEO Kobold
Innovative floor care: the Kobold 53 dating from1953 and the new Kobold 136 with the electric brush EB 360.
27
DIVISIONS
1929
Modell 30: It all started
with the original Kobold.
1950
Now, if that isn’t a good reason to buy!
Starting in late 1950, Vorwerk produced
a new Kobold accessory, the legendary
hair-dryer hood.
1955
Used on animals, the Kobold grooms
and cleans in one go – and stops the
stable smell from clinging to the groom.
1932
Advertising pamphlet for the
Modell 33, which was produced
between 1932 and 1934.
1953
The Kobold 53 appears for the first time in green and beige
design and is die-cast in unbreakable thermoplastic.
Sold since: 1930
Division headquarters: Switzerland
Countries: The division has its own direct sales
companies in Italy, Germany, China, Austria,
Spain, the Czech Republic, France, Russia
and Switzerland and sells via distributors in
14 other countries
CEO: Federico Materazzi
People working with Division Kobold: around
14,300, of whom some 9,700 are sales advisers
Website: www.vorwerk-kobold.com
28
Facts & Figures
The rotor, or fan wheel, of the Kobold vacuum cleaner motor
covers an average 750,000 kilometers during the course of its
life. That’s like traveling to the moon and back.
Smooth out the surface of the vacuum cleaner’s FL-A13 active
carbon filter and it measures 6,000 square meters – that’s the
size of 10 soccer fields put together.
1967
Vorwerk demonstrated the
advantages of the Kobold to
an international public at
trade fairs all over the world.
1989
The 50 millionth electrical appliance comes
off the production line at Vorwerk – and it’s
a Kobold. Johannes Rau, prime minister of
North Rhine-Westphalia, and later Germany’s
president, is on hand to witness the event.
2008
Customers are still buying the Kobold where
they need it: in their own home.
Floor care made by Vorwerk
1
Tremendous suction power and durability, low energy consumption and a host of applications are what make the floor
care products from Vorwerk so universally popular. The high-quality products continually score top marks in independent
tests. Here are the most important members of the “Kobold family” that ensure cleanliness and freshness.
Clean-cut solution: The new Kobold 136, a particularly
energy-saving hand-held vacuum cleaner, is equipped
with a multi-step filter system that lets allergy sufferers
breathe freely.
2
3
Dust just doesn’t have a chance: The Polsterboy PB 420
(2) has vibrating suction brushes that make sofas and
armchairs look as fresh as new.
Wild for dust: The new, large-capacity cylinder vacuum
cleaner Tiger 260 (1) is ideal for big households.
A gleam that can’t be bettered: The Pulilux PL 515 (3)
vacuums and cleans hard floors all the way into the very
farthest corner.
Multi-talent for carpets and hard floors: the electric
brush EB 360 sweeps away every speck of dirt.
Neat little nozzles: Hard floors or tiny nooks and crannies
– Vorwerk has the nozzle attachment to fit the bill.
Smart carpet cleaning: The Frischer-Kit carpet freshener
and the electric brush really get to the bottom of carpets.
Cleaning agents for deep-down cleanliness: Kobosan
active for daily care; Kobotex to fight stubborn stains;
Kobolin, the special treatment for hard floors; Lavenia
for freshening up mattresses.
29
DIVISIONS
“In addition to my important
responsibilities as housewife and
mother, I was looking for an
activity that gave me the chance
to get to know people.”
Karla Plaza Arriola
JAFRA consultant, Mexico
JAFRA Cosmetics has the right care products for every type of skin.
30
JAFRA Cosmetics – Career Opportunities for Women
The Power to
Transform Lives
As in any large metropolis, Mexico City is a place where the extremely busy lifestyle, pollution and the diversity of weather
conditions have negative effects on people’s skin. Unfortunately, these elements contribute to premature aging, accentuating
expression lines and diminishing skin’s luminosity. For JAFRA skin care consultants, however, this reality is not an obstacle
but a great opportunity to demonstrate the top-quality JAFRA Cosmetics products to other women and at the same time build
a secure, financially independent business for themselves.
K
arla Plaza from Morelia, the
capital of the federal state of
Michoacán in Central Mexico, is
one of the more than 435,000 JAFRA consultants in the country. For 18 years, she
has promoted the culture of skin care
among women interested in improving
their personal image through scheduled
home get-togethers known as “classes.”
She also uses the classes to encourage
others to join JAFRA as a consultant.
Now is the right time
to join JAFRA
JAFRA Cosmetics, with all the experience of 52 years in direct sales, gives
women the opportunity to earn an
income and build a home-based business
selling top-quality beauty and skin care
products, while taking full advantage of
their personal time. At the classes, which
are held at the customers’ home, consultants sell skin and body care products,
perfume, decorative cosmetics, SPA and
anti-aging products. And now is a particularly good time to become a JAFRA
consultant as Frank Mineo, President and
CEO of JAFRA, agrees: “There has never
been a better time for women to go into
business for themselves. Women-owned
businesses are the driving force of the
U.S., European and Mexican economies."
Karla is a living example of this – “in
addition to my important responsibilities
as housewife and mother, I was looking
for an activity that gave me the chance to
get to know people. Importantly, I was
looking for a well-paid activity that would
provide me with total economic independence.” The JAFRA slogan “The
Power to Transform Lives” also plays on
the unparalleled opportunity the company offers women to achieve impressive
levels of personal and professional
growth and so to improve their own lives
and those of their families
The idea of offering women an attractive job prospect with quality products was
a key consideration for company founders Jan and Frank Day from the United
States, who gave the brand its name,
JAFRA. In the diary Jan Day kept from
1956 to 1973, in which she kept a record
of the early JAFRA years, she writes:
JAFRA consultant Karla Plaza Arriola knows her
customers’ skin care needs.
31
DIVISIONS
JAFRA has become one of the world’s
major cosmetics companies thanks to
its innovative beauty and skin care
products that combine new technologies
with natural active ingredients.
“Frank and I wanted to sell only the finest,
the most elegant cosmetics it was possible to produce. We dreamed of a company with a heart – a company sensitive
to the wishes and hopes of everyone
connected with it. A company with a
conscience.”
Karla begins every class with an individual
skin test, which allows her to learn about
the skin type of her guests and, in that
way, recommend the right products for
their specific needs. Sitting around the
table, each with a small mirror, the potential customers pay careful attention to the
experienced consultant’s demonstration.
Personal advice,
solid know-how
Frank Mineo
CEO JAFRA Cosmetics
32
Applying eye cream to one guest and
massaging it gently into the area around
her eyes, Karla explains the many benefits that this product brings to the skin.
The other women spontaneously talk
about the natural appearance of small
wrinkles, impurities, dry patches, redness
– unwanted blemishes and frequent problems that can be prevented or even eliminated with special skin care products.
At the end of the class, everyone is happy:
Karla is pleased about all the orders she
has booked and her lucrative income,
while her guests feel they have been given
excellent advice and are delighted with
the products and career opportunities
JAFRA offers.
“One of JAFRA’s strongest advantages
over the competition is personal advice
through classes,” says Mari Loli Sanchez,
Senior Vice President and President
JAFRA Mexico. JAFRA consultants consistently broaden their knowledge by attending training courses and learning from
experienced consultants, who pass on
their know-how at the many seminars
JAFRA holds. Karla Plaza Arriola also
spent several years traveling all over
Mexico as a member of JAFRA’s regional
trainers’ team, sharing her expertise and
knowledge with her JAFRA peers.
In business since 1956, JAFRA became
a member of the Vorwerk group in 2004
Division headquarters: USA
Countries: JAFRA has its own direct
sales companies in Mexico, the USA,
Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria,
the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic
and Russia and sells via distributors in
9 other countries
CEO: Frank Mineo
People working with JAFRA Cosmetics:
around 516,700, of whom more than
515,000 are consultants
Website: www.jafra.com
“The JAFRA success formula that creates
“The Power to Transform Lives” is its
direct sales party plan. JAFRA believes its
significant sales increase in 2007 is just a
first blush of what to expect in the future
and reinforces its global expansion strategy for 2008 and beyond,” says
Frank Mineo.
“Since the company began, JAFRA has
leveraged its cutting-edge beauty and skin
care products, unique innovations blending new technologies and natural ingredients, and its direct sales party plan to
become one of the world’s largest cosmetics companies.”
New technologies and natural ingredients are also responsible for the success
of the revolutionary skin care program
JAFRA DYNAMICS, which was launched
last year. “DYNAMICS is a major mile-
stone for JAFRA,” says Pragna Chakravarti, JAFRA Vice President Research &
Development and Chief Scientific
Officer.
New skin care program
creates a competitive edge
The JAFRA DYNAMICS range of skin
care products combines exclusive botanical complexes and the ancient wisdom
of Ayurvedia herbal blends with the innovative INTELLISHIELD® technology.
One of its active ingredients is the membrane that protects red marine algae
from the extremely harsh conditions of
their deep-ocean habitat. The second
ingredient, a biotechnologically produced polysaccharide, acts like a second
skin, providing protection from harmful
environmental influences and changing
climatic conditions. The products slow
down the skin’s aging process and also
repair damage caused by the environment. Individually formulated to suit the
moisture and oil content of different skin
types, there are four JAFRA DYNAMICS
skin care lines: Calming, Hydration,
Control and Balance.
The new JAFRA DYNAMICS program
also has Karla Plaza convinced. “Our new
image and skin care put us far above our
competitors and give us exciting reasons
to contact everyone we know right now,”
she says, pleased that thanks to the innovative new products, she can further
expand her clientele and win over even
more women to both JAFRA products
and JAFRA career openings.
The products of the latest skin care program JAFRA DYNAMICS: Calming, Hydration, Control, Balance.
33
DIVISIONS
Healthy, Delicious Meals with the Thermomix
Perfect Partner
for Good Food
Everyday meals or elaborate menus, European or Asian specialties – with the Thermomix, they all turn
out beautifully. Family managers all over the world love the highly innovative kitchen helper
that saves them lots of time in the household. Find out for yourself just what this highly innovative
all-rounder can do – give it a try with some international recipe favorites.
Three generations of kitchen technology:
below a VKM5, a Vorwerk mixer from the
1960s; above, the original Thermomix
VM 2000. The current Thermomix TM 31 (left,
with the new Varoma attachment) truly is
a technical masterpiece.
34
H
ow much more does a modern
kitchen need? The Thermomix
TM 31 chops, minces, blends,
weighs, stirs, grates, grinds, mixes and
cooks, and so replaces at least twelve
household appliances as well as virtually
cleaning itself after cooking. So it not only
saves lots of space, but lots of time, too.
And with the Varoma steamer unit, it can
produce a full meal for four in just half
an hour. What’s more, this is such a gentle
way to cook that no fat is needed and not
only the full flavor of the ingredients but
also the valuable vitamins and minerals
stay locked in.
“The Thermomix is one of the most
important kitchen aids since the invention of fire,” says German 3-star chef
Dieter Müller – praise indeed! Sophisticated menus or good home cooking,
baby food or light, airy mousses – even
complicated meals are simple to prepare
and always turn out successfully with the
all-rounder from Vorwerk. No wonder
the Thermomix is also at home in the kitchens of such international top chefs as
Alain Ducasse in France and Ferran
Learning from good
examples
How do I go about building up a
successful Thermomix sales operation?
Which rules do I need to follow? What
are the pros and cons of the different
tools available for motivating representatives? Why are regular Monday team
meetings so important? The answers to
these and other questions can be found
in the so-called Best Practice Guide
published by Division Thermomix.
“We got together for the first time a
few years ago with people from our
successful sales companies to develop
this guide,” says Andreas Zeidler, business development manager at Division
Thermomix. A new edition is due out
this year.
Exchange between sales companies is
fostered by regular meetings and two
international conferences a year, where
best-practice lectures are frequently on
the agenda. For younger sales operations, in particular, this is a tremendous
advantage - and for Division Thermomix, it’s an important basis for entering
new markets.
Adrià, the Spanish inventor of experimental molecular cuisine, who actually
uses 15 Thermomix appliances in his
kitchen.
Technical innovation in a
minimum of space: 23 patents
The success story of the unique kitchen helper began in France back in
1970. Because thick soups are a favorite
there, the then Director Sales of Vorwerk
France, Hans-Jörg Gerber, hit on the idea
of designing a device that would be able
to mix and cook all at once. Vorwerk
enthusiastically took his lead, and only a
short while later, in 1971, the original
Thermomix VM 2000 came onto the market – originally in France, then later in
Spain and Italy, where people traditionally appreciate good food and fresh
ingredients. Naturally, the multi-talent
was soon selling like hot cakes.
Sold since: 1971
Division headquarters: Switzerland
Countries: The division has its own
sales companies in Spain, Italy, Germany,
France, Portugal, Poland, Taiwan and
Mexico and sells via distributors in
30 other countries
CEO: Jörg Körfer
People working with Thermomix:
17,300, of whom more than 16,300 are
representatives
Website: www.vorwerk-thermomix.com
More and more representatives in more
and more countries began to delight
hosts of customers by demonstrating the
advantages of this clever form of cooking.
Over time, Vorwerk gradually developed
new models with improved performance
and new functions. The latest of these is
the current TM 31, for which a total of
23 patents have been filed.
The all-rounder is chock-full with innovations, such as a reverse function for
particularly gentle stirring, blade wings
for finest mincing, built-in scales that
weigh ingredients in 5-gram steps and
also a detailed temperature indicator.
Every 100 seconds, a Thermomix is
sold somewhere in the world today. And
the kitchen star’s international conquests
continue – in eastern Europe, for
instance, in Mexico and in Asia. That’s
because the popular allrounder gives
women and men all over the planet what
they want: the means to cook tasty, healthy meals in a jiffy.
Walter Muyres, Co-CEO Thermomix
Jörg Körfer, CEO Thermomix (right)
35
DIVISIONS
The Jubilee Menu
Eight countries – one cooking pot. The Thermomix is ideal for preparing specialties from every corner of the planet. Try some
spicy Polish pasta, for example, pasta with swordfish from Italy, an exotic rice dish from Taiwan or a genuine French quiche.
And round off your meal with a light, fluffy Spanish “flan” washed down with a mouth-watering cocktail from Mexico.
Spicy Pasta Parcels from Poland
Pierogi Ruskie
Russian Pasta Parcels
Ingredients
Pasta: 480 g wheat flour, type 550, 1 tsp. butter, 1/4 tsp. salt,
300 g hot water
Filling: 150 g onions (halved), 40 g butter, 320 g boiled potatoes
(without skins, from previous day) 2 tbsp. semolina, 3/4 tsp. salt,
1/2 tbsp. black pepper (ground), 480 g cottage cheese
Preparation
Pasta:
1. Place all pasta ingredients in mixing bowl and
knead 1 min/ / .
2. Remove pasta, set aside and knead briefly by hand.
If the pasta is still sticky, add a little flour. Cover and
leave to cool.
Filling:
3. Place onions in mixing bowl, chop 6 sec/speed 5.
Heat butter in a frying pan and sear the onions until
light brown.
4. Place potatoes and semolina in mixing bowl, chop
4 sec/speed 4.
5. Add salt, pepper, cottage cheese and half of the browned
onions, mix 10 sec/ /speed 3 with aid of spatula and
continue mixing for another 20 sec/speed 4 with aid of
spatula.
Pierogi:
Tasty Bread from Germany
Apfel-Nuss-Brot
Apple and nut bread
Ingredients
750 g apples (quartered), 100 g sugar, 150 g sultanas,
500 g flour, 11/2 packets baking powder, 1 tbsp. cocoa,
1 tsp. cinnamon, 200 g whole nuts (mixed)
Preparation
1. Place apples in mixing bowl, chop 5 sec/speed 5
with aid of spatula and transfer into a bowl.
2. Place sugar, sultanas, flour, baking powder, cocoa and
cinnamon in mixing bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 3.
3. Add the nuts and chopped apples, knead approx.
3 min/ / with aid of spatula.
4. Place the dough in a greased loaf pan (30 cm) and
bake in a pre-heated oven for 60 minutes at 180°C.
36
6. Roll out the pasta dough 2 mm thick on a floured
surface and cut out circles with a glass (Ø approx. 6 cm).
7. Place some filling (1 tsp.) on the pasta circles and then
fold the circles into half-moons and press the edges
together.
8. Immerse the pierogi in boiling salt water and simmer for
another 3 minutes once they have floated to the surface.
9. Serve pierogi with the remaining browned onions.
Delicious Pasta from Italy
Pennette allo spada con melanzane al rosmarino
Mini-penne with swordfish and rosemary aubergines (eggplant)
Ingredients (to serve 4)
1 aubergines (250 g), 250 g swordfish, 1 bunch parsley (10 g),
2 garlic cloves, 1 shallot, 40 g olive oil, 1 sprig rosemary, salt,
1 small dried chili, 100 g dry white wine, 150 g diced tomatoes,
1200 g water, 320 g mini-penne
Preparation
1. Wash aubergine and cut into 2 cm cubes, salt and
leave to drain in a sieve for 30 minutes.
2. Clean swordfish, remove skin and dice. Set aside.
3. Place parsley and one garlic clove in mixing bowl,
chop 5 sec/speed 7. Set aside.
4. Place shallot and second garlic clove in mixing bowl,
chop 3 sec/speed 7.
5. Add 30 g olive oil and sprig of rosemary, sauté
5 min/100°C/ /speed 2.
6. Add washed and well-drained aubergine cubes and
cook 10 min/Varoma/ /speed .
7. Add diced swordfish, salt and chili, cook 5 min/
Varoma/ /speed .
8. Add wine and cook 10 min/Varoma/speed
.
9. Add tomatoes and half of chopped parsley, cook
10 min/Varoma/ /speed .
10. Pour sauce into a bowl and set aside.
11. Pour water into mixing bowl and bring to a boil
7 min/100°C/speed 1.
12. Add mini-penne and cook for time indicated on
pasta packaging/100°C/ /speed 1 and arrange
on a serving dish with the aubergine-fish sauce,
sprinkle over the remaining parsley and drizzle
remaining olive oil over the top.
Hearty Soup from Portugal
Sopa de grao com espinafres
Chickpea soup with spinach
Ingredients (to serve 8)
300 g fresh leaf spinach, 120 g dried chickpeas,
1000 g water, 1 tbsp. salt, 200 g onions (quartered),
50 g olive oil, 200 g carrots (cut into pieces), 3 cloves of garlic,
150 g turnips (cut into pieces), salt, pepper to taste
Preparation
1. Place spinach in Varoma receptacle and set aside.
2. Place chickpeas in mixing bowl, pulverize
30 sec/speed 9, transfer into a bowl and set aside.
3. Add water, salt, onions, olive oil, carrots, garlic,
turnips and pulverized chickpeas (on top!) to
mixing bowl. Place Varoma in position and steam
25 min/Varoma/speed 1.
4. Set Varoma aside, insert measuring cup and blend
1 min 30 sec/speed 8-9.
5. Place spinach in a bowl, pour soup over it, seasoning
with salt and pepper to taste. Mix soup with spinach
and serve hot.
37
DIVISIONS
The Jubilee Menu
Healthy Treat from Taiwan
Rice porridge with goji berries
and Asian sweet potatoes
Ingredients:
1200 g water, 150 g rice, 200 g Asian sweet potatoes
(alternatively yam roots or potatoes), 30 g fresh shiitake mushrooms
(cut into cubes), 100 g diced chicken breast marinated in wine and
salt, salt, 5 g dried goji berries (alternatively cranberries)
Preparation
1. Place water in mixing bowl and bring to a boil
10 min/100°C/speed 1.
2. Add rice and cook 10 min/100°C/speed 1.
3. Add Asian sweet potatoes, mushrooms, diced chicken
breast and salt to taste, cook 4 min/100°C/speed 1.
4. Add dried goji berries, cook 1 min/100°C/speed 1
and serve hot.
A Classic from France
Quiche Lorraine
Ingredients (to serve 4)
100 g Gruyère cheese
Pastry: 150 g flour, 75 g butter (in pieces),
1/2 tsp. salt, 50 g water
Topping: 250 g water, 200 g diced bacon or ham,
30 g flour, 30 g butter, 250 g milk, 1 pinch nutmeg,
1/2 tsp. salt, pepper, 3 eggs, 2 tbsp. crème fraîche
Dried peas for blind baking
Preparation
1. Place Gruyère cheese in mixing bowl, grate
20 sec/speed 7. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. Place all ingredients for the pastry in mixing bowl
and knead 1 min/ / .
3. Mix pastry 10 sec/ /speed 2 and then remove from
mixing bowl.
4. Roll out pastry 2 mm thick and place in a buttered
and floured quiche dish.
5. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
6. Pour 250 g water into mixing bowl and heat
4 min/100°C/speed 1.
7. As soon as the water is hot, add diced bacon or ham
and heat 1 min/100°C/speed 1, then place in a bowl
and set aside.
8. Prick pastry in the quiche dish, cover with aluminum
foil, scatter over dried peas and bake in the oven for
15 minutes at 180°C.
9. Place flour, butter, milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper in
mixing bowl, mix 4 min/90°C/speed 3.
10. Set Thermomix at speed 3, then add the eggs, crème
fraîche and grated Gruyère. Stop the Thermomix.
11. Sprinkle the diced bacon or ham over the pre-baked pastry,
cover with the milk-mixture from the mixing bowl and
spread evenly. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 180°C.
38
Refreshing Drink from Mexico
Strawberry Margarita
Ingredients
300 g strawberries, 500 g ice cubes, 50 g sugar,
1 peeled and pitted lemon, 60 g Cointreau, 150 g Tequila
Preparation
Typical Dessert from Spain
Flan
1. Place strawberries in mixing bowl and puree
10 sec/speed 7.
Caramel pudding
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend the Margarita
1 min, gradually increasing speed from 5 to 10 with
aid of spatula.
Ingredients (to serve 8)
500 g milk, 4 eggs, 130 g sugar, caramel sauce, 700 g water
Tip:
Preparation
• Moisten the rims of the Margarita glasses (Martini glasses)
and dip in a mixture of sugar and salt. Then pour in your
Strawberry Margaritas.
1. Place milk, eggs and sugar into mixing bowl, mix
10 sec/speed 4.
2. Pour some caramel sauce into 8 soufflé dishes
(approx. 4 cm high) and fill them with the mixture.
Wrap soufflé dishes in aluminum foil and place them
into Varoma receptacle and Varoma tray.
3. Pour water into mixing bowl, place Varoma in position
and steam 30 min/Varoma/speed 1. Carefully remove
aluminium foil and insert a toothpick to check if it comes
out clean. If some mixture sticks to the toothpick prolong
time by a few minutes more.
4. Allow to cool 1 hour before placing in fridge for at least
1 hour.
The international Thermomix Recipe Team
works together on all aspects of Thermomix recipes, including quality
standards. The countries’ recipe developers put together and test recipes
for the Thermomix to keep advisors and customers constantly supplied
with new ideas for conjuring up delicious treats with the Thermomix.
From left to right: Alexandra Mas, Miriam Aguirre (TM Spain),
Irmgard Buth (TM Germany), Alex Guignet (TM Export),
Valentina Acquilino (TM Italy), Anne-Laure Allien (TM France),
Corinna Haase, Kai Schäffner (TM Vorwerk International),
Cristina Vela (TM Spain), Maja Ortner (TM Vorwerk International),
Maria Acquaviva (TM Italy), Maria José de Resende (TM Portugal).
Not in the picture: Renza Pivetti (TM Italy)
5. Turn soufflé dishes upside down onto plates and remove
soufflé dishes.
Tip:
• How to make your own caramel sauce:
Place 200 g of sugar in a saucepan (Ø 16 cm) and cook
over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar
melts, becoming a light brown.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and carefully add
100 g of hot water, stirring constantly. Cook the sugar and
water again over medium heat, stirring constantly until it
reaches the consistency of syrup. Pour into a container
and let cool. The caramel will then have the consistency
of liquid honey.
• It’s a good idea to make the dessert the evening before
you plan to serve it so that it can cool properly.
39
DIVISIONS
“Our sales advisers are experts
where cleanliness and freshness
in the home and water quality
are concerned.”
Brigitte Leiner
CEO Lux Asia Pacific
40
The thorough
demonstration
includes a detailed
water test.
Lux Asia Pacific
Cleanliness and Freshness
Well-being and purity: This is the promise Lux Asia Pacific products hold for customers and their families.
That’s because both the Alva water purifier and the Vorwerk vacuum cleaners sold under the Lux brand name
make for gleaming cleanliness and a fresh, healthy environment in customers’ homes.
L
ux Asia Pacific has been part of
the Vorwerk group since 2001.
With the acquisition, Vorwerk
secured itself a broad base in what was
then the world’s most vigorous growth
region. “The number of households
there is high and disposable income
rising all the time,” says Brigitte Leiner,
CEO of Division Lux Asia Pacific, describing the situation in Asia. Already some 20
percent of households in the emerging
markets there have an income that allows
the purchase of high-quality articles. The
situation in markets such as Japan and
Taiwan, on the other hand, has already
been comparable to that in Europe for
quite some time.
The water purifier Alva delivers drinking-water quality.
Lux Asia Pacific concentrates on the sale
of two product groups: home care appliances and water purifiers. The Lux brand
is already well established in Asia and the
products all come from Vorwerk’s own
production facilities. Just as in other divisions, these appliances are sold direct.
“Our goal in the countries of Asia is to
establish a large number of satisfied
customers who will remain loyal to our
products for a long time to come,” says
Ms. Leiner. Special emphasis is therefore
placed on the training of management
staff and coaching of sales advisers. The
slogan “Lux for Life” is set to gain even
greater significance in the future, both
for customers and sales advisers.
41
DIVISIONS
Demonstrating a vacuum cleaner in Indonesia.
Water purifier demonstration in Thailand.
Facts & Figures
1.2 billion people in the world do not
have access to clean drinking water
“Our sales advisers are experts where
cleanliness and freshness in the home
and water quality are concerned,” she
adds.
The water purifier, especially, is a product customers need to have explained
thoroughly before deciding to buy. “As a
core product, the water purifier is of
particular significance. Water quality is
inadequate in many regions, which
means there is a genuine need for which
we can provide a complete solution,” Ms.
Leiner stresses. Contact with the customer continues after the sale because the
Lux purifier package includes a service
contract and regular filter replacement.
Before Alva is launched in a particular
region, the company always ascertains the
general water quality there. In the customer’s home, the sales adviser will then,
where necessary, use the so-called “water
evaluation panel,” a mini-test lab, to
detect impurities in the drinking water.
Depending on the situation in the various
countries, the sales teams work either on
a door-to-door basis or use an address
recommendation system to arrange
appointments for demonstrations. “Cultural differences and the market situation
are very important here,“ says Brigitte
Leiner. As a general rule, European
products, and German ones especially,
enjoy an excellent reputation in Asia.
That’s an important talking point for the
sales advisers, but also a decisive argument for each individual customer.
Cultural differences
considered
Brigitte Leiner
CEO Lux Asia Pacific
42
The following test really demonstrates
the purifier’s efficiency and is far more
impressive because the customer can
immediately see the difference. The test
involves a red liquid dye being added to
the tap water, which is then pumped
through the water purifier and in the
end flows clean and clear into the glass.
If the customer decides to buy, the appliance is usually delivered and connected
to the main water supply the same day.
Founded: 1926, Lux Axia Pacific has been
a member of the Vorwerk group since 2001
Division headquarters: Singapore
Countries: Lux Asia Pacific has its own
companies in Indonesia, Japan, Thailand,
Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines and
sells via distributors in 7 other countries
CEO: Brigitte Leiner
People working with Lux Asia Pacific:
4.900, of whom some 2,900 are sales
advisers
Website: www.luxasiapacific.com
Feelina Ironing System
Saves Half the Time
Ironing is one of the most time-consuming household chores. A family manager in a four-person household spends around 150 hours a
year doing the ironing. That doesn’t have to be because, with the Feelina Ironing System, the job can be done in half the time!
T
edious sorting, ironing on the
wrong side, fiddly pleats, shiny
patches, seam marks – these all
belong to the past thanks to the Feelina
Ironing System. “A family manager irons
520 kilos of laundry a year. That’s a mountain that would take a month to iron if
you did it all in one go,” says Ralf Brockhaus, CEO, Division Feelina. “With the
Feelina, it can be done in half the time,
so our customers have more time for
themselves and their family.”
The Feelina Ironing System was
launched onto the German market in
2002. That same year, it won the internationally coveted red dot award: product
design 2002. But it’s not just the design
that has made it a favorite with customers
and the 280 Feelina advisers who present
the product. Technically speaking, the
Feelina System leaves nothing to be
desired thanks to its suction and “airbag”
function, special base and oodles of steam
power, all of which make ironing a breeze.
The airbag also simplifies the job. The
airbag function inflates clothes making
them literally float above the board.
A quick swipe of the iron and you’re finished – without pressing in any seam
marks. The suction function, on the other
hand, prevents fabrics from slipping as
you iron. And thanks to the enormous
steam power and the patented descaling
system, every piece of clothing turns out
beautifully smooth and lime-scale marks
don’t spoil your laundry. With the
Feelina, ironing truly is fun!
Ironing with an “airbag”
Ralf Brockhaus
CEO Feelina
“With the iron’s special base, the temperature is always just right. Even delicate
fabrics, such as silk or appliqués, can all
be pressed at the same, constant temperature. Even T-shirts with transfer prints
can be ironed on the right side. It’s really
true, nothing sticks to the special base,”
Feelina branch manager Monika Stein
enthuses.
Founded: 2002
Division headquarters: Switzerland
Countries: The division has its own
sales company in Germany and sells
via distributors in seven other countries
CEO: Ralf Brockhaus
People working with Division Feelina:
more than 300, of whom 280 are
sales advisers
Website: www.feelina.com
43
DIVISIONS
“Each of our employees knows how
important quality is to us. This is
as true at the facility in Shanghai
as it is in Italy, France and here in
Wuppertal.“
Heinrich Peterwerth
CEO Vorwerk Engineering
Uncompromising
Quality
However much Vorwerk products may differ, there is one thing they all have in common: top quality. Whether cosmetics from
JAFRA, carpets or household appliances, all of the products Vorwerk turns out are associated with modern technology and
high standards. This image is the result of the traditionally stringent quality management at Vorwerk, which will continue to be
of prime importance in the future, too – because only satisfied customers remain loyal to a brand, and only satisfied customers
recommend a brand to others.
U
nique, durable and robust,
that’s what the Kobolds,
Thermomixes and Feelinas
have to be, and they should make an
equally positive impression on sales teams
and end customers alike. “We want our
product to surpass the customers’ expectations,” says Dr. Günter Poppen, the
man in charge of quality management at
Vorwerk Engineering. He is the point
where all lines concerning the quality of
Vorwerk household appliances converge.
“We integrate our processes from the very
start, when a product goes into development,” Dr. Poppen stresses. His depart-
44
ment is an integral part of research and
development. One thing holds true for
the entire Vorwerk world: quality is never
complete! “Our work is an endless process of continuous improvement. Audits
are still performed after a product has
gone into serial production.” If errors
crop up, they are analyzed and corrected.
Extensive testing
The general rule is that before a
Vorwerk appliance leaves the factory, it
is thoroughly tested. “Each of our employees knows how important quality is to us.
This is as true at the facility in Shanghai
as it is in Italy, France and here in
Wuppertal,” as Heinrich Peterwerth,
CEO of Vorwerk Engineering, is keen to
point out. A network of quality control
officers in all locations ensures that
quality is always high on the priority list
everywhere.
Today, Günter Poppen can claim with
confidence that “we currently have the
best quality we have ever had. Compromise is something we cannot accept!”
That’s an assertion Pragna Chakravarti,
Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President Research & Development at JAFRA
Cosmetics in Westlake, USA, would certainly subscribe to. “Our customers know
that our consultants have been giving
them good advice for more than 50 years
and that they can use our products without any risk.”
Before a new product is ready for the
market, it undergoes a series of microbiological and clinical tests. “We want to
rule out skin irritations and allergies as
much as possible. That’s why we take
around one year to test every aspect of a
new formula. We test whether the product remains consistent over a longer
period, whether it tends to become contaminated or whether a chemical reaction is possible between the contents and
the packaging.”
Clinical tests are run to ensure quality
and, depending on the product, the
cosmetics company works closely with
dermatologists, pediatricians and ophthalmologists. Completing the process,
further tests are then run to ascertain
both how well different skin types tolerate a product and also its end user acceptance. Only then is the product released
for sale. “Our customers are discerning
and willing to pay a little more for good
quality,” Pragna Chakravarti explains.
She knows that all the effort pays off in
the end. Factors such as quality, design,
health and ecological production are
relevant to carpets, too – today customers
Quality
The quality of a product or a service
depends entirely on all product requirements being met – both the objectively
measurable features and specifications
of the producer and the subjective
expectations of the customer. The basic
principle of quality planning is prevention
– the “zero-error principle“ is adopted
as standard in all areas of the company.
These principles apply in this or similar
form to all Vorwerk group
production facilities.
Division Engineering is responsible for
the manufacture of Vorwerk household
appliances and has plants in Germany,
Italy, France and China. The products of
Lux Asia Pacific are also made in China.
JAFRA Cosmetics has a production
facility of its own in Mexico. Division
Carpets has its production site in
Germany.
expect more and the premium market is
growing. “When we deliver our high-quality products, we deliver quality of life,”
Johannes Schulte, CEO of Vorwerk Carpets explains – adding to the purely technical concept of quality such elements as
structure, color and design.
All of these factors must combine perfectly and many other factors contribute
toward the development of a new design.
Heinrich Peterwerth
CEO Vorwerk Engineering
The aim during production is to ensure
a high-quality result. The weaving and
tufting machines may operate automatically, but every error, no matter how
small, is identified by a camera system
fitted to the machine and corrected
immediately by hand. An expensive and
time-consuming business with just one
goal in mind: giving the customer the best
possible quality – Vorwerk quality.
Volker Solbach at the Thermomix test bench performing quality checks on new appliances.
45
DIVISIONS
Division Carpets
“New | Room | Feeling”
It’s lying in a Tokyo theater, in a 5-star hotel in Barcelona, a London stadium and in the International Business Center in
Abu Dhabi. It rides in high-speed trains through Germany and France and lies at the feet of Hollywood stars during award
ceremonies. It is already 125 years old, yet at the same time younger and more modern than ever before: Vorwerk carpet.
C
arpet is a product closely interwoven with the Vorwerk company
and its history. A part of that
history from the very first moment, carpet has an eventful 125 years behind it,
during which time its quality and versatility have always been its great strengths.
Vorwerk Carpets is now taking another
step into the future with a program
of equally high-quality and creative
products.
Vorwerk today presents its line of carpets under a new aspect: “New | Room |
Feeling”. The word “feeling” plays a central role here. After all, carpet is an almost
unique furnishing element in that it
determines through its material, its color
and its structure the emotional dimension and “perceived warmth” of a room.
That is why Vorwerk has expanded its
program in this explicit direction. The
46
division was also fortunate enough to gain
for the project the creative services of the
internationally acclaimed designer Ulf
Moritz, who has won several awards for
his avant-garde textile and wallpaper
designs.
Extravagant design
Recommended by the German Asthma and Allergy
Federation (DAAB): Vorwerk carpets reduce the fine
dust content in the room air of homes and offices.
His new collection, Ulf Moritz by
Vorwerk, offers everything the premium
carpet segment could wish for: exciting
color worlds, exquisite materials, extravagant design, discreet luxury. A “prêt-àporter collection with a touch of couture”
is how the designer himself describes the
collection, with which the Hamelin-based
Vorwerk Division Carpets is positioning
itself as an exclusive brand for the most
discerning tastes.
In other words: Vorwerk will not be
resting on its carpet laurels. That would
run counter to the corporate philosophy
– after all, you only get to reach 125 years
if you look ahead and focus on the future
and its needs. That is why Vorwerk itself
researches and develops in many different directions: not only real-life future
scenarios – Vorwerk received an innovation prize, the “Zukunfts-Award,” for a
carpet equipped with RFID sensors – but
also areas such as the environment and
health.
Top environmental standards,
recognized certification
Johannes Schulte
CEO Division Carpets
Aside from emotionalizing the product,
the new direction principally aims to
open up new markets and market segments. Internationally, Carpets wants to
continuously expand its field of activities;
in the commercial property market, the
plan is to step up activities in the hotel
and office segments. The aim: to continue to set trends in a difficult competitive
environment and to unlock new potential through growth and internationalization.
Along with an international team of
scientists from 15 universities and institutes, Vorwerk developed a household
dust analysis, for instance, which for the
first time ever made it possible to make a
qualitative statement about the level of
allergens in the household. The German
Asthma and Allergy Federation (DAAB)
recommends Vorwerk carpets because
they are particularly effective in reducing
fine dust contamination in room air. In
addition to the DAAB recommendation
label, the carpets have also been awarded
the certificates of TÜV Nord “Für
Allergiker geeignet” (Suitable for
allergy sufferers) and the GUI seal
“Reduziert effectiv Feinstaub in der
Raumluft” (effectively reduces fine dust
in room air).
Since August 2007, Division Carpets has
been working in compliance with the
universally recognized environment
management system DIN ISO 14001. This
also marks a success for the Executive
Board, which has included environmental concerns in its corporate principles
and expressly encourages the use of environmentally friendly materials and production techniques.
Carl Vorwerk probably never dreamed
that the company he founded would
come such a long way. But he would surely
have been pleased to hear that Vorwerk
carpets are still making their mark in
the international home and commercial
segment as they did throughout the
company’s 125-year history.
Founded: 1883
Division headquarters: Germany
Countries: The division has its own
companies in Germany, Austria,
France and Switzerland, and exports
to 47 countries
CEO: Johannes Schulte
People employed by Division Carpets:
over 350
Website: www.vorwerk-teppich.com
“We want to lend some
emotional touches to our
carpets and turn interior
design into a genuine
experience. And that is
precisely what we have
managed to do with the
collection Ulf Moritz by
Vorwerk.”
Johannes Schulte
CEO Division Carpets
47
DIVISIONS
HECTAS Facility Services
Spotless Career
HECTAS counts among the most successful companies in the field of infrastructural facility services in Europe.
In the future, the company plans to expand its position throughout Europe
H
ECTAS sets a shining example with innovative facility
services of excellent quality in several European countries. Its extensive portfolio encompasses the systematic cleaning of buildings, facility and security services, as well
as all-round consulting and special offerings for greater satisfaction in the workplace. Thanks to its sound industry expertise, HECTAS guarantees to satisfy each customer’s specific
requirements, whatever the sector: administration, retail and
logistics, the food-processing industry or health care, to name
but a few.
Excellent performance makes all the difference
improve workflows. In addition to this, the different country
operations regularly compare notes on best-practice solutions.
“With 60 branches in Europe today, there are many experiences
other sites can learn from and good ideas to adopt,”
Jens Koenen explains. He is the man responsible for marketing
and business development at HECTAS. Such ideas can be successful sales concepts or an organizational tool, such as quality
cards for the monthly assessment of customer satisfaction. In
1994, HECTAS became one of the first in the business of
cleaning buildings to receive DIN 9001 certification.
Today, quality management and environmental management
form an integrated management system that conforms to both
DIN 9001 and DIN 14001 standards – and applies Europe-wide
In all sectors, HECTAS positions itself clearly as a provider
of quality – and that in an industry where dumping prices are
commonplace. To deliver on its promise, the company operates a sophisticated system of quality assurance, under which its
services are regularly assessed by both project managers and
customers. Process-optimization experts work tirelessly to
Facts & Figures
Nineteen HECTAS staff from Duiven in Holland cleaned
415 windows in 37 minutes. That’s a world best that earned
the team an entry in the Guinness Book of Records.
48
Founded: 1974
Division headquarters: Germany
Countries: The division has its own companies in Germany,
the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Belgium,
Hungary and France
CEO: Hans ter Pelle
People employed by Division HECTAS: more than 11,500
Website: www.hectas.com
and to all branches. This fits in perfectly with the company
motto: “HECTAS. All taken care of.”
As a true Vorwerk company, HECTAS attaches great importance to quality and know-how as well as to setting itself high
standards as an employer. That’s why HECTAS has always,
among other things, paid all of its employees a fair wage. After
all, dedicated service staff are really the company’s capital. They
are the people responsible for on-site results and customer satisfaction; without them, HECTAS would not have become the
flourishing brand that it is.
That’s how HECTAS manages time and time again to set itself
apart from its competitors by introducing innovative developments. The latest of these is a holistic hygiene system, of which
the new surface disinfectant Oxidice® S-Des, which ensures
unsurpassed hygiene in food-processing plants and clinics, is a
key element. HECTAS sees growing potential in the market for
health and community facilities, where hygiene standards are
now playing an increasingly important role. This is a market
where the company can make its mark as a professional provider of quality services.
Innovation with a future
This is the strategy with which HECTAS has gradually developed into a European enterprise with industrial standards over
the years since its formation in 1974. A number of branches and
new services have been added to date – and more are continually boosting the company’s portfolio.
Facts & Figures
The HECTAS team is made up of people from 93 countries.
Communication problems? Practically unheard of!
INTERVIEW with Hans ter Pelle
HECTAS on Course
for Growth
What opportunities for development do
you see in your industry at present?
The facility services market is already well
developed in Central Europe. The only way
to stand out from our competitors here is
by offering new service types, or specialist
or particularly high-quality services. In less
well-developed markets, such as Eastern
Europe, for example, there is still great potential for growth in the facility services
sector.
Talking of growth, which targets have
you set yourself?
Hans ter Pelle
CEO HECTAS Facility Services
By 2012, we would like to have achieved a
presence in all of Central Europe by building up operations in Spain, Italy, Portugal
and Switzerland. At the same time, we
want to consolidate our position in our
existing markets by offering new services.
We also plan to expand our activities in
Eastern Europe. No matter how much we
expand, however, we will never compromise on quality or on the way we treat our
employees.
Which are your strategies for opening
up new markets?
If customers expand into new countries
and ask us to go along with them, we will
do so provided it is a lucrative proposition
for us. Or we might buy up an existing
company and then expand it in line with
our portfolio and quality standards. We
have already been very successful with
both models in the past.
49
DIVISIONS
“You have to keep the customers’
work input to a minimum.”
Martin Mudersbach
CEO akf group
akf group
Partnering Mid-Scale Businesses
Close contact with customers is not only a typical feature of Vorwerk’s business in household appliances and cosmetics, but
also of the services provided by the akf group. That’s why the akf group has developed into a flourishing provider of financial
and leasing services and is now expanding successfully in Europe.
P
ersonal contact to the customer is
the akf group’s great strength,”
Eberhard Pothmann, member of
the Executive Board and Vorwerk CFO,
emphasizes. “Our great field staff allow
lots of time for personal consultation.
What’s more, we are constantly expanding our branch network to be as close as
possible to our customers.”
The Vorwerk subsidiary akf was
formed in 1968 to help customers finance
the purchase of a vacuum cleaner –
a major acquisition in those days.
Today, the company has become a
thriving specialist in the leasing and
financing of mobile investment goods.
These include cars, trucks, construction
and production machinery, and computer and laboratory technology. Even
boats, helicopters and horses can be
leased or financed through akf.
50
“Individual quotations, speedy processing
and full personal service,” says Martin
Mudersbach, CEO of akf bank, who
knows very well what his customers want.
“You have to keep their work input to a
minimum.”
Successful expansion
to Poland and Spain
That’s why a 24-hour Internet service,
a Saturday telephone service for automobile dealers, fleet management software and an online costing tool that lets
dealers calculate financing and leasing
rates quickly and simply are naturally all
par for the course for the bank that partners small and medium-sized companies.
Customer proximity and innovative offers
clearly pay off. In 2007, the akf group’s
business volume totaled 546.2 million
euros; that’s year-on-year growth of some
eight percent.
So what could be a more obvious next
move than to export this successful business model? In the past two years, the
group has set up its first international
companies: the Madrid-based akf equiprent españa and akf leasing polska in
Warsaw. Both are coming along very well.
Demand is growing
And the demand for leasing and
financing services is growing because
more and more German customers of akf
are venturing into new markets abroad.
As Martin Mudersbach puts it in a nutshell: “The European Union has 27 members. There are some interesting markets
opening up for us here.”
Direct contact to the customer, and not only at trade fairs – that’s the key to the akf group’s success.
akf group
Established: 1968
Division headquarters: Germany
Countries: own companies in
Germany, Spain and Poland
CEO: Martin Mudersbach
akf group employees: over 300
Website: www.akf.de
Personal service: An akf customer takes delivery of an entire fleet of vehicles.
“We are expanding
further”
INTERVIEW with Martin Mudersbach
Martin Mudersbach
CEO akf group
Fleet leasing is one of the main areas of
the akf group’s activities. How did that
come about?
Because Vorwerk is a direct seller and
delivers its products direct to the customer,
in Germany alone there are 8,000 sales
advisers on the road – in a fleet consisting
of 1,000 vehicles. The logical next step was
to add fleet management to our portfolio.
And we soon noticed that we could offer
other companies attractive deals in this
segment, too.
What’s special about the services the
akf group offers?
As a family enterprise, we can empathize
with and respond flexibly to the needs of
the small and medium-sized enterprises
that are our customers. We offer them that
little extra in service they don’t get from
other leasing providers.
And what does the future hold?
We want to be as close as possible to our
customers, so we are continuing to set up
new branches and are also pushing ahead
with our international expansion.
51
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
52
Family Manager
The Most Important
Job in the World
Family managers are assertive, strong communicators, competent, responsible, motivated, good at setting priorities and
getting along with other people – just like managers in business. What’s more, they are also nannies, cooks, teachers,
personnel officers, chauffeurs, event managers and spiritual advisers all rolled into one. What makes this job so unique?
T
here are family managers all over the world, even if that’s ago, the launch of the first Kobold vacuum cleaner caused a
not what they call it. That’s because women everywhere sensation. Household “machines” had never been so handy
(and sometimes men, too) put all their energy into before, but then, suddenly, appliances became available that
making sure that their families have it good and life runs made household chores easier, simpler, faster to do – a develsmoothly. The everyday lives of these all-rounders can be very opment that over the following decades would greatly alter the
different. There are family managers who concentrate entirely housewife’s work and ultimately make the role of family manon their job at home while others additionally go out to work. ager possible.
Yet the purpose of helping family managers do their job
There are mothers and fathers who raise their children alone
or with a partner, large families, small families and multigener- remains an important element of the Vorwerk corporate phiational families. The family culture is basically just as colorful losophy to this day. Itself a family enterprise with a long tradition, Vorwerk is concerned with social issues, and each year
and diverse as the job itself.
Whereas the most widespread type of family in northern publishes a family survey in Germany and awards a deserving
Europe is the small family unit, in which men also increasingly nominee the title “Family Manager of the Year”. Aside from
contribute actively to “family management”, in many Asian
countries, grandparents play an important
role. In southern Europe and South America,
it is perfectly natural for relatives to be con“If I can spend some
sidered a part of the family network.
time cuddling with my
In big cities especially, there are more and
kids in the evening, I
more families in which both partners go out
know all the effort has
to work, but only in very few countries is child
been worthwhile.“
care provided by the state. In the end, therefore, it is the mothers and family managers
around the world who are responsible for
coordinating child care, job, household, cooking and leisure
time themselves. That many women are more flexible today
than they once were, despite their numerous duties, is due to
the technical household aids that lighten their load. Things
were very different 125 years ago. In those days, household
chores were hard physical labor and left a woman almost no
time to devote to her children and family. Even less than 80 years
53
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Thanks to an array of modern appliances that make housework less of a chore, today’s family managers have more time for their loved ones.
Vorwerk's well-known time-saving and family-friendly cooking,
vacuuming and ironing products, actually working as a sales
adviser or consultant with Vorwerk is something that offers
family managers a new perspective.
Women all over the world take advantage of the opportunity
which a job in direct sales with Vorwerk offers them to balance
family and work to suit their own needs. JAFRA classes and
Thermomix and Feelina home demonstrations are particularly
popular with women as “part-time” jobs that also leave them
time for their family. In the end, it is up to every family man-
Even if family managers
don’t earn a manager’s
salary, not one would
likely change places.
54
ager to determine how she runs her own “small family business”.
In that sense, she is very like her manager colleagues in
commerce and industry. For both, not only cultural and social
factors but also the size of the business and their own personal
style of management play a key role. And even if family managers don’t earn a manager’s salary and don’t have an office,
cannot expand or hand in their notice, not one of them would
likely wish to trade with their business counterparts. The responsibility they carry is simply too great. After all, theirs is the most
important job in the world.
PEOPLE
“Vorwerkers” over Generations
Part of the Family
For many people who work with Vorwerk, the family enterprise is almost family itself. We introduce two families,
one from Germany and one from France, who have been working for Vorwerk for generations.
120 years of Vorwerk: the Pahnke family from Ennepetal
T
he Pahnke family is a true
Vorwerk family with three generations already having worked
with the company. Some 120 years is the
total time Stefan Pahnke, head of maintenance and repair, together with his
father, his grandfather and his wife,
Kerstin, have worked for Vorwerk.
When Stefan was a small boy, the
Pahnkes lived right next door to the
factory and he could often drop in on his
dad, Hans Joachim, during the lunch
break. Stefan soon decided that he
wanted to follow in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps.
Lothar Hausmann, Stefan’s grandfather and Hans Joachim Pahnke’s fatherin-law, was a “Vorwerker” for an impressive 49 years, Hans Joachim Pahnke, for
a total of 36 years. His son Stefan is close
on his heels. He, too, has been with his
first and only employer for almost 25
years. And if it’s left up to him, that’s not
about to change. “I can’t imagine working for any other company,” he says.
“I’ve never thought about switching, I’ve
found my perfect employer.”
Vorwerk brought him luck outside the
job, too, because it was at work that he
met his wife, Kerstin. By Pahnke standards, however, the human resources
officer is almost a greenhorn with her
mere ten years at Vorwerk. Even the
Pahnke’s 11-year-old son, Christopher,
already has plans to carve out a career for
himself with the family company – and
so carry on the family tradition.
Together for the Thermomix: Françoise and Stéphane Leroy
T
hat cooking is supposedly a
female domain is an assertion
Stéphane Leroy disproves on a
daily basis. That’s because the 34-yearold is not just a passionate amateur chef
but also one of the most successful team
leaders with the Thermomix direct sales
company in France. His enthusiasm for
Vorwerk and the Thermomix is something he inherited from his mother,
Françoise, who has already been working
with the company these past 23 years. As
an area manager, she is responsible for
350 representatives and several team
leaders, one of whom is her son.
“It’s difficult to be your own son’s
manager. We agreed from the get-go that
we would never discuss Vorwerk in private. We both wanted to avoid any work
problems that could cast a shadow on our
relationship.” Stéphane is happy he decided to choose the same career path as
his mother. “I cannot thank my mother
enough for introducing me to Thermomix. It was anything but easy to begin
with because I had absolutely no sales
training.” These days he is just as successful as his mother and, although now in
line for a post as area manager and
therefore no longer giving many demonstrations himself, he still cooks with the
Thermomix every day – at home, for his
family.
So what is this Vorwerk family’s recipe
for success? Here, too, mother and son
Leroy agree, “The most important ingredients are enthusiasm and sociability –
the rest can all be learned.”
55
WORLDWIDE
A Career with Vorwerk
Commitment Pays
Exciting challenges within a highly diversified corporate group: Vorwerk attaches great importance to being an attractive employer.
56
“Balancing family and job
is not a problem for me.
As a freelance Kobold sales
adviser, I initially worked
part-time and then moved
on to full time. I decide
myself when I work – and
that lets me choose the time
I spend with my family.”
“A talent for organization,
conceptual intuition and
my strengths as a team
leader help me in my work
and ensure that we can
all be successful together.”
Adriana Gonzalez
Lady Grand Master
JAFRA Cosmetics, Mexico
Pepi Martin
Sales adviser
Vorwerk Kobold, Spain
T
op employer and family enterprise all rolled into one:
Vorwerk prides itself on offering people not only interesting lines of work and good prospects but also a sense
of identification with their own corporate culture. Because the
people who work for Vorwerk are also part of the “family.” This
mix of personal closeness and international breadth is probably what makes Vorwerk such a special employer.
“We help to promote the Vorwerk growth strategy and
contribute toward making the Vorwerk group a first-choice
employer everywhere.” This statement from Wolfgang
Bahlmann, Executive Vice President and Chief Human
Vorwerk Principles
Five principles govern the quality of cooperation at Vorwerk. They
connect and guide all member companies of the Vorwerk family and
form the basis both for how our staff work together and also for
how we are perceived in the marketplace and by the general public.
Clear Customer and Performance Orientation
We always strive to provide our customers with first-class products
and services. Within the company, too, we are dedicated to
achievement, accepting only the highest standards. Vorwerk aims
to secure long-term profits commensurate with our performance.
This is only possible if our customers can put their faith in our
performance.
Successful with People
Our success depends upon people. Extremely important to us,
therefore, are the qualification and motivation of our staff and
sales partners. The cooperation we value is founded on trust,
sincerity, respect and fairness. We respect people as individuals.
“The USA, Australia,
Germany and now Italy.
Because I rise to the challenges every new day brings,
I am internationally successful at Vorwerk. I am now in
charge of an entire sales area
in Italy. Things couldn’t be
going any better for me.”
Patrizia Castellano
Area manager
Vorwerk Contempora, Italy
Resources Officer, underscores Vorwerk’s aspiration to offer
people interesting jobs and career opportunities – at all levels,
in administration, production and in sales, too.
“Our success depends on people,” it says in one of the five
Vorwerk corporate principles. “For us, training and motivating
our employees and sales partners is of the essence. The quality
of our work together is based on trust, honesty, respect and
fairness. We respect people as individuals,” quotes Mr.
Bahlmann, adding, “Combined with high motivation and a
willingness to embrace change and progress, that is the basis
for good cooperation with our staff.”
Outstanding Thanks to Quality and Innovation
Vorwerk perceives itself as an innovative enterprise. As we have
direct contact with our customers, we know their needs and wants
and accordingly provide them with top-quality products and services.
At the same time, we are committed to using our natural resources
sparingly and attach great importance to the environmental
friendliness of our products.
Thinking and Acting with a View to the Future
Since its formation in 1883, Vorwerk has been a family business.
Thinking and acting with a view to the future is a matter of tradition
with us. This is how we make decisions and weigh up investments.
Based on this long-term view, we also assume responsibility for our
staff and sales partners. That responsibility includes involving
ourselves in our social environment.
Prepared for Change and Progress
Progress is unthinkable without a readiness for change. We recognise
the need to introduce changes and are ready and willing to do so. This
is a challenge we perceive as an opportunity for our dynamic company.
“My training at Vorwerk
is great fun and I really
enjoy working in a harmonious work atmosphere.
The job also offers me
excellent prospects.“
Dominik Begoll
Apprentice tool mechanic
Vorwerk Elektrowerke, Germany
57
WORLDWIDE
Vorwerk Academy
Create (y)our future
Growth and a constant process of change – these also mean the need for the special training and development of staff.
Since 1999, the Vorwerk Academy has existed to give aspiring managers an international perspective.
O
ne goal that is firmly anchored
in Vorwerk’s corporate principles is “global fitness.” The company’s desire and intention to impart its
own international perspective to its
employees and to make them “fit” for
management roles in an international
environment are what global fitness is all
about.
“Learning from other countries and
profiting from other people’s experiences – that’s what has benefited me
most.” Giovanni Gueli is Vice President
Administration & HR at Vorwerk
Contempora in Italy and he has already
participated in several Vorwerk Academy
programs. His words are typical of how
most participants rate their experience.
In addition to further training led by
internal and external lecturers, these
international programs also place
emphasis on in-depth exchange between
skilled and managerial staff from
different countries. The Junior and
Senior Management Programs target
managers and executives of all divisions
and aim to teach general management
skills. The altogether ten different
“schools of business” convey specialist
know-how relevant to all divisions, such
as controlling, for example, intercultural
management, technology or direct sales.
The target group comprises skilled
and management staff. Attending the
Vorwerk Academy forms part of an
employee˚s career development and is
agreed upon during the annual development consultation between an employee
and his or her superior.
However, there are a number of conditions an employee must satisfy in order
to be able to participate in a program.
“The participants are our “high potential,” who have been working for Vorwerk
for at least two years, have a good command of English, wish to gain a better
general idea of fundamental management processes, are interested in learning
some new skills and prepared to take on
other duties within the group in the near
future,” says Wolfgang Bahlmann, Executive Vice President and Chief Human
Resources Officer. People like Paul
Verkerk, in fact, who has already worked
in several different international postings
with Vorwerk and is now Director Controlling in France. He has been on the
Junior Management Program since
February 2006. “It’s an excellent opportunity for many colleagues to get to know
different people from different countries
and divisions and to introduce them58
selves and their work. Particularly if you
haven’t previously worked at one of the
holding company’s affiliates, it can sometimes otherwise be difficult to make and
cultivate international contacts.” That’s
important for the participants, but also
crucial to the future of the Vorwerk
group. Its transformation into an international player calls for its employees to
think in terms of international structures.
“We already have more than 30 nationalities represented in management positions today,” says Barbara Lehr, Senior
Vice President, Corporate Management
Development, who is responsible for the
Vorwerk Academy programs. One of the
main jobs of corporate development will
therefore continue to be the systematic
fostering of competent trainee managers.
In addition to the Vorwerk Academy,
which is the chief corporate development
tool the holding company has at its disposal, the individual divisions also run
their own programs. These are specially
designed for sales and management trainees. Elements of these programs have an
international focus and so foster the development of staff on the one hand, and of
the entire Vorwerk group on the other.
Here a small selection of the entrance
and trainee programs Vorwerk offers:
• House of Talents
(DivisionKobold)
• Tutorship Program
(Division Thermomix)
• Management Trainee Program
(Division Lux Asia Pacific)
• Marketing Trainees and
Branch Managers
(Division HECTAS)
• Junior Sales Managers
(Division akf group)
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Speedy aid after the 2004 tsunami: Lux Asia Pacific helped provide clean water in the flooded areas.
Fundraising Campaign Organized by and for “Vorwerkers”
The Vorwerk Group
Sticks Together
JAFRA staff, too, were among those who lost their home in the devastating floods that swept the Mexican state of Tabasco.
The Vorwerk group was not slow to provide relief, however, and immediately launched an appeal for donations – as in the past,
when the tsunami disaster hit Southeast Asia.
S
ince last November, nothing has
been the same in Tabasco, where
rain fell constantly for three weeks,
transforming the southeastern federal
state bordering the Gulf of Mexico into
a disaster area. Some 100,000 people at
the heart of the flooded state capital,
Villahermosa, were completely cut off by
the water. One million people, almost
half of the total population, lost their
homes and all of their possessions in the
floods. Eight people died and many have
been missing ever since. The harvest was
devastated, food became scarce and both
medical services and the telecommunications system collapsed. Plundering
completed the chaos. Many employees of
the direct sales company JAFRA Cosmetics were also affected by the flooding.
JAFRA has an office in the capital,
Villahermosa, with 18 permanent employees. The office supports seven Lady
Grand Masters, 489 team leaders plus
almost 12,000 consultants. At least three
JAFRA people lost their home and many
consultants could not be reached during
the disaster. So it’s good thing that in
disaster situations like this, where people
really are up to their neck in it, the
Vorwerk group rolls up its sleeves and
does everything it can to take care of its
employees and to ease the effects of the
disaster. Back in 2002, when monumental flooding hit East Germany, Vorwerk
set up the Vorwerkers help Vorwerkers
campaign to raise funds to help the victims of the disaster.
Two years later, in December 2004,
when a tsunami caused widespread devastation in Southeast Asia, the Vorwerk
group once again made a worldwide
appeal for donations to provide on-thespot help for the families of Lux Asia
Pacific representatives who had died or
been injured. Once again, the response
was overwhelming: Vorwerk’s Executive
Board provided 200,000 euros in immediate aid. Further donations from employees, sales advisers and representatives from all international operations
brought the total aid for those affected
up to over 450,000 euros. Lux Asia Pacific staff also distributed water purifiers to
the suffering population.
When the horrific pictures started to
come in from Tabasco, JAFRA launched
a large-scale appeal for donations. Every
euro, dollar, peso, ruble or Swiss franc
JAFRA employees gave during the period
November 19 to December 19 was
doubled by JAFRA and Vorwerk. The
donations have meanwhile been passed
on in the form of goods vouchers to the
JAFRA consultants affected by the flood.
The Mexican consultants will likely
never fully recover from the anguish they
have suffered, but at least a donation goes
a little way toward softening the financial
blow.
59
WORLDWIDE
International Team Dynamics
When Different Cultures
Work Together …
How do hierarchies look in other cultures? Who is the best person to approach? And where will a phone call, a short e-mail
or a personal conversation be more likely to have the desired result? In order to be successful in an international arena, it is
important to know the different cultures, how they differ and also what they have in common. To enable them to move with
confidence on such terrain, the Vorwerk group prepares its employees for international challenges at training courses on
intercultural management.
“To ensure that cooperation
within international project
groups works well, it is useful
to be familiar with the different
cultures and their values.”
Ina Baum
Coach, Intercultural Management
60
“Consideration and humor
are ideal door openers when
dealing with people from
different cultures.”
Germann Bumb
Manager of the Vorwerk Engineering
appliance production facility
English is the corporate language within the Vorwerk group.
F
or Vorwerk, “going global” is not
just a slogan but a way of life. That’s
what makes Vorwerk so successful
and also adds to the company’s appeal as
an employer. Within a context of international cooperation, Kobold vacuum
cleaners travel a long way from production to final delivery at the customer’s
home. Along the way, there are numerous
negotiations to be held with international partners and suppliers. This is a long
process that starts with a screw and continues through electronic components all
the way to final assembly of the appliances in one of the production facilities
in Wuppertal (Germany), Arcore (Italy),
Semco (France) or Shanghai (China).
Other cultures,
other points of view
That linguistic and cultural differences
can present a particular challenge is
something Germann Bumb knows all
about from daily experience. He manages the Vorwerk Engineering appliance
production facility in Wuppertal. Even if
Vorwerk staff receive language classes in
the group’s corporate language, English,
to prepare them for work at international level, that certainly doesn’t mean that
the counterparts they have to communicate with are fluent in English. In order
to overcome language barriers, a con-
versation may occasionally be held in a
different language. If necessary, drawings
can also prove a very useful aid for engineers when, for example, an external
Chinese supplier without any English and
a German want to “talk,” says Bumb, who
has already gained a great deal of experience with intercultural teams in Italy,
France, China, the United States and
Mexico.
Interpreters can help with small talk,
but they are usually out of their depth
when it comes to specialist discussions full
of technical terms. But even if every member of an international team does speak
English, communications can be impaired by cultural differences. According
to a survey conducted by the business
consultancy KPMG, some 54 percent of
international deals are not finalized. In
65 percent of cases, cultural differences
are the main reason for this failure. That’s
partly due to the fact that people often
see other cultures only from their own
point of view and always compare them
with their own. It they are similar to their
own, they are perceived as normal and
“good.” Anything different will often be
considered “bad.”
“We don’t see things the way they are.
We see things the way we are,” as French
author Anaïs Nin also discerned. Small
wonder, then, that Mexicans and Japanese, for instance, have quite different
descriptions for the typical German.
The Mexicans see Germans as being
serious, reserved, cautious, inhibited, selfcontrolled and always in a hurry. By contrast, the Japanese view of the Germans
is of a relaxed, friendly, spontaneous,
uninhibited, emotional and impulsive
bunch of people who are prepared to
take risks.
Respecting and creatively
benefiting from differences
“To ensure that cooperation within
international project groups works well,
it is useful to be familiar with the different cultures and their values,” says Ina
Baum, an intercultural management
specialist who coaches Vorwerk group
employees and at in-house seminars helps
them understand the work practices of
other cultures.
When interacting with foreign cultures, it is important to be familiar with
and to respect cultural differences. “But
it’s not a question of desperately trying to
copy the foreign culture, but of being
able to respond with humor should an
unusual situation arise,” as Germann
Bumb advises. One thing’s certain, he
wouldn’t trade his wide experience of different cultures and already anticipates
with pleasure his continued cooperation
with colleagues from Europe, Asia and
America.
61
INNOVATION
Product Development
Added Value
Through New Ideas
Basically, it all sounds very simple: The product division commissions a development, Engineering implements the requirements.
Simple? Not quite – because there are so many little hitches that can arise once work begins on the details of a development.
An innovative product has to go through several stages before reaching its market – and quite often, the initial idea comes straight
from the customer.
Innovative: the improved heating system of the Thermomix 31.
Kobold motors are getting smaller and more powerful all the time.
P
successful in the marketplace,” says Mr. Wissmann. So the way
he defines it, innovation is not an end in itself, as the example
of the vacuum cleaner motor clearly confirms. “We have made
some huge improvements to the Kobold motor over the past
few years. It is now 50 percent more powerful and three times
as fast, but weighs about five times less.” That’s a deciding
factor because vacuums need to perform better and at the same
time become lighter all the time.
But how does an innovation come about at Vorwerk? As a
general rule, our sales advisers and representatives find out
where demand exists for product development through their
close contact to the customers. “That’s one of our great
strengths,” he believes, and adds: “Thanks to our direct sales
teams, we are in very close contact with our customers, talk to
them about their needs and can then provide appropriate input
for the product development process.” The Thermomix TM 31
is a good example of this. A technically mature predecessor
model needed to be optimized, and Division Engineering and
the sales companies worked hand in hand on new concepts for
the blade, the heating system and on the overall structure of
the appliance. That’s why the new model is such a success.
Because it was a genuine step forward for the customer, for the
sales people and also for the developers.
But how do such innovative leaps come about? Vorwerk uses
a so-called “product calendar” that shows which products are
designated for renewal or improvement in the coming years.
“We can plan our development activities according to the calen-
rize question: What can be broad and narrow, thick and
thin, as well as hard and soft all at the same time? No
such thing? “Oh, yes there is,” says Michael Wissmann,
who is fond of citing the soft nozzle of the Kobold vacuum
cleaner as an example of what appear at first glance to be
the contradictory requirements of a new product. Michael
Wissmann is in charge of research and development at Vorwerk
Engineering and describes his job as “living with contradictions.”
The soft nozzle, also often called “the housewife’s flower,” is a
shining example of how a new and innovative product can be
developed in collaboration with the sales companies.
“Innovation is more than just an invention. An innovation
creates added value through new ideas and is ultimately also
“That is one of our great
strengths. We find out what
our customers want and can
then provide the appropriate
input for the product
development process.”
Michael Wissmann
responsible for Research & Development
Vorwerk Engineering
62
A prime example of cooperation between the sales companies: the soft nozzle for the Kobold, which is also known as the “housewife’s flower.”
dar,” Mr. Wissmann says. So in the preliminary stage, the developers can take specific suggestions into consideration, discuss
ideas and try to bring new technical possibilities into line with
upcoming requirements. “We can then hand the sales people
a catalog of possibilities.” The new ideas must focus on some
ambitious targets. “If I ask for a 10 percent improvement I might
actually only get five percent,” he continues.
So the targets need to be differently formulated: in the case
of a new motor, for example, double the power plus a weight
reduction. “Only then can we shake off old ways of thinking and
see a thing from a different angle. The result is often better
then than the original target.” Employee know-how is a key
factor in the business of innovations. Above all, young engineers
need to be brought in. “Fresh ideas are important for us,”
Mr. Wissmann confirms. These young people get to work on
their products from start to finish and that’s a great incentive
for them to come to Vorwerk. Experienced staff members
contribute their expertise in project groups and by exchanging
ideas and information, we manage to achieve, over and over
again, what at first seemed to be impossible: developing an
innovative Vorwerk product from apparent contradictions.
Facts & Figures
Vorwerk provides jobs four some 1,200 people around the world
in the production as well as research and development
of all the Vorwerk products.
63
INNOVATION
Product Design
Design:
A Deciding Factor
Design encompasses form, function and color. But not only – it’s also about material and construction. “Design is vital if we
want to be distinguishable,” says Ina Struve, development manager at Vorwerk Carpets. Rolf Strohmeyer, chief designer at
Vorwerk Engineering, puts it this way: “Industrial design is the overall concept of a product. It’s not just a question of good
looks. Ergonomics, aesthetics, the unmistakable face of the brand and the typical brand impression are also key factors.”
64
H
ow can we make products destined for direct sale
interesting and give them emotional appeal?”
Rolf Strohmeyer, the man at Vorwerk Engineering
responsible for the design of the Kobold, Thermomix and
Feelina products, asks himself this question long before
product design gets under way. The design team is in on the
process from the very first meetings between the sales companies and the research and development experts. “At this stage,
we develop some basic ideas and make a few sketches and
models,” says Mr. Strohmeyer. Over time, the technical and
design concepts are brought into line, always in close consultation with the sales companies.
The sensual component of design is important to
Rolf Strohmeyer. “Our brand defines itself by the appearance
of the products, the impression they make is a deciding factor.”
Yet design is not an end in itself. “The design must always make
sense and clearly benefit the customer.” In order to keep their
finger on the pulse of current trends, the Vorwerk designers
regularly collaborate with such illustrious partners as the universities of Essen and Budapest.
“The design must always make sense and
clearly benefit the customer.“
Rolf Strohmeyer
Chief designer, Vorwerk Engineeering
Vorwerk Kobold, Spain
So it’s a holistic understanding on which the design and
styling of Vorwerk products are founded. A look behind the
scenes at Vorwerk Carpets reveals how true this is. Naturally,
color still plays a dominant role in carpet design, and current
tastes go for warm, mellow, homey hues.“ Naturally, design is
much more than just coloring to us. We are constantly striving
to surprise with innovation and emotion, to introduce highlights and find special, unique structures. We like to inspire and
set trends,” says Ina Struve, development manager at Vorwerk
Carpets and the person responsible for design. “What people
want today are carpets and carpeting that follow international
style trends and have a distinctive character. Surfaces are dominated by clear, warm colors, and have lots of volume and a certain graininess,” she adds. In terms of product design, this means
carpeting with a much higher pile and surfaces that are more
intensively structured. What’s more, historical carpet designs
are being newly interpreted. One example of this is a reincarnation of the old flokati: the new “shaggy” style that’s currently
all the rage.
To stay abreast of the latest trends and to strengthen their
market leadership, the people in Hamelin work closely with
well-known artists, who provide valuable input on patterns,
shapes, colors and grades. “Bolder design elements are in
demand today,” says Ina Struve. So the new slogan “New | Room
| Feeling“ ideally expresses the latest trends: three dimensions
that lend special emphasis to artistic statements.
“Design plays a key role at Vorwerk,“ say Ina Struve, development
manager at Vorwerk Carpets (above), and Rolf Strohmeyer,
chief designer at Division Engineering (right).
65
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Children also receive
medical care at the
SOS Children’s Villages.
Vorwerk Family Fund
Committed to Helping
Children in Need
Providing help for the children of this world – that’s what Vorwerk employees have been doing for years – by supporting
SOS Children’s Villages with their generous donations and creative fund-raising activities. Thanks to their contributions,
a new village is now being built in Central Vietnam.
A
secure home, a loving mother,
carefree games with siblings,
regular meals, schooling and
medical care: For many children, these
are not things to be taken for grant-ed.
That is why, for more than 50 years now,
SOS Children’s Villages has been providing homes in which children in need
can receive the care, love and security
Facts & Figures
Over 480 SOS Children’s Villages in
132 countries around the world provide
a new home for some 66,000 children.
66
they need. There are over 480 SOS Children’s Villages in 132 countries today,
chiefly financed by donations. Doing
their utmost to support that work is something close to the heart of Vorwerk’s
employees, representatives, consultants,
sales advisers and managers. As members
of an old-established family enterprise,
they identify closely with the concept of
“family.”
In 2002, Vorwerk set up the Family
Fund, which raises funds worldwide for
SOS Children’s Villages. So far, the donations have funded the building of three
family houses in an SOS Children’s Village in Hyderabad, India, and two in
Moín, Costa Rica. What’s more, until the
end of 2005, the fund provided for the
continued care of the children living in
the Vorwerk houses in Hyderabad. Since
the beginning of 2006, the village has
been able to support itself through local
donations and sponsors.
The anniversary year target:
a new SOS Children’s Village
The Vorwerk Family Fund has set itself
a particularly ambitious goal to mark
the company’s 125th anniversary: It is
helping to build a complete new SOS
Children’s Village in Vietnam. The search
for a suitable location is almost concluded
“The tremendous support Vorwerk
and its staff all over the world
have given us over many years really
is something special.“
Ute Kister
Donor liaison officer with the
Hermann Gmeiner Fund
The Vorwerk Family Fund owes its
existence to the exceptional initiative
of the international Vorwerk staff and
companies. The people of Vorwerk are
highly creative in finding ways to raise
funds. The Family Cent is another
way of boosting funds in the donations
account: Every employee has the
opportunity to donate the odd cents on
his or her pay check to the Family Fund.
That donation is then doubled by
the Executive Board.
Vorwerk Family Fund –
SOS Children’s Villages
Commerzbank Wuppertal
Account number: 4242533
Sort code: 330 400 01
IBAN: DE46 3304 0001 0424 2533 00
BIC: COBADEFFXXX (= Swift Code)
Playing and learning together at a Vietnamese
SOS Children’s Village.
Every cent is well used
and in a few months’ time, the foundation stone will be laid. The fund aims to
make its involvement in the village a long
one by actively supporting it even after its
completion.
Ute Kister, donor liaison officer with
the Hermann Gmeiner Fund, which
supports SOS Kinderdorf worldwide, is
delighted about the help the Vorwerk
Family Fund provides. “The tremendous
support Vorwerk and its staff all over the
world have given us over many years really
is something special. We are extremely
grateful and look forward to working
together on the new project in Vietnam.”
A new children’s village is urgently
needed here since Vietnam counts
among the world’s poorest countries. To
this day, the country has not recovered
from the long and bloody war. There
are twelve SOS Children’s Villages in
Vietnam at present, but the need there is
still great. “We wish to help here and to
collect as many donations as possible,”
says an emphatic Dr. Jörg Mittelsten
Scheid, Chairman of the Vorwerk Advisory Board and founder of the Vorwerk
Family Fund. “I am certain that Vorwerk
people all over the world will once again
contribute enthusiastically.”
For SOS Children’s Villages it is selfevident that all money raised is properly
and transparently allocated. The annual
financial statements satisfy the strict
requirements of the German Commercial
Code and are audited by an independent
firm of accountants – the latter applies
both to the German and the international
SOS Children’s Villages organizations.
The organization does entirely without
professional fundraisers and pays no
commissions. The cost of administering
SOS Kinderdorf worldwide totaled some
4.5 percent of the total budget in 2006,
and that is far below the average. That’s
why the German Central Institute for
Social Issues (DZI) regularly awards the
organization its donation seal of approval.
www.sos-childrensvillages.org
67
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Charitable Initiatives of the Mittelsten Scheid Owner Family
Ideas for a
Humane Future
A garden tended by people from very different nations, a house for fostering craftsmanship and artistic
activities – the foundation anstiftung & ertomis supports projects that foster individual initiative and the
peaceful co-existence of cultures. The Mittelsten Scheid foundation has made this work possible.
It also sponsors other scientific, charitable and cultural projects.
A
little piece of home. A garden of
their own – that was what a group
of Bosnian refugees in Göttingen
wished for. Soon the women’s dream
came true when they were presented
with a plot of land. This became the first
“international garden” that would be
jointly tended by refugees and German
families.
That was in 1996. Since then, with a
little help from anstiftung, the idea has
borne lush fruit. In Göttingen alone,
300 people from 20 countries of origin
work on the international garden project.
Many similar initiatives ensued. The
“international gardens” are a prime example of initiatives the nonprofit organizations anstiftung and ERTOMIS –
since January 2007 merged to form
“Stiftungsgemeinschaft anstiftung &
ertomis” – have been sponsoring for
many years.
68
Other examples of the foundation’s work
are the Haus der Eigenarbeit in Munich
and the Kempodium in Kempten, two
centers set up by anstiftung that have for
many years provided opportunities for
craftsmanship and artistic activities,
exchange and events. The foundation
also publishes research reports, organizes conferences and links and advises
several initiatives. That’s how an extensive network has grown up over the years
that enables people to turn their visions
into reality.
And that’s not all. The Mittelsten
Scheid foundation also backs diverse
research and university education projects, the arts, museums and exhibitions
as well as the restoration of historical
buildings. That’s why, whenever it’s a
question of works for the common good,
the name of this great family of entrepreneurs comes up again and again.
Ertomis Stiftung GmbH was initiated
in1973 by Erich and Charlotte Mittelsten
Scheid and Vorwerk & Co. KG. The research company anstiftung was founded
in1982 by Jens Mittelsten Scheid.
In January 2007, the two companies
merged to become “Stiftungsgemeinschaft anstiftung & ertomis.“ The
foundation’s key focuses are historical
awareness, self-determination and a
sustainable understanding of social
wealth. The foundation sponsors culture,
science and research, and supports
projects that foster sustainable lifestyles.
www.anstiftung-ertomis.de
“Every human being has far more
talents and abilities than he or she
realizes. We would like to create the
conditions in which such potential
can develop – for the benefit of the
individual and of society.”
Jens Mittelsten Scheid
Member of the Vorwerk owning family
Najeha Abid with freshly picked vegetables from her “International garden.”
69
IMPRINT
125 Years of Vorwerk
The International Vorwerk Group Jubilee Magazine
Version: April 2008
Vorwerk & Co. KG
Corporate Internal Communications
Mühlenweg 17-37
42270 Wuppertal
Germany
Editorial Team
Michael Weber (editor-in-chief)
Nina Kannengießer
Alexandra Stolpe
Photos
Cora Fip, Frank Fischer, Kevin Liu, Frank Ossenbrink,
Matthias Sandmann, Cornelia Suhan, Michael Weber,
Henrik Wiemer, Getty Images, SOS Children’s Villages,
Stiftung Interkultur, Vorwerk Company Archive
Text and Design
rheinfaktor
agency for communications gmbh, Cologne
Translation
Lynda Matschke, Hamburg
Printer
Druckhaus Ley + Wiegandt GmbH + Co, Wuppertal-Barmen
70
At home around the world