My career at KLS Martin began in 1993 when I was looking for a graduate position. Unfortunately, in an economic crisis, I finished my precision engineering degree in Furtwangen and the job market for graduates looked very bad at the time.
At that time, my family still had a craft business for concrete and natural stones in Tuttlingen and my parents actually wanted me to take over this. But I had other plans and therefore wanted to prove all the more that my path is the right one. After a few theses were advertised at the companies at the time, I decided to go to MEDICA to speak to some companies directly. There I got in touch with the company Fritz Hüttinger Medizintechnik from Freiburg, which then offered me a job. At that time, the company had been a shareholder of the Martin Brothers for two years.
Despite the crisis, I was able to convince the company of myself and after completing my diploma thesis got a job as a development engineer in the field of devices for minimally invasive surgery, then became group leader, later development manager, technical manager and from 2001 managing director of what has since been renamed Trumpf Medizin Systeme Company. But my journey did not end there.
From 2001, as managing director, I had more contact with our sales company in Tuttlingen - the Martin brothers - and got to know Karl Leibinger better. In 2004 the strategies of the Martin brothers and TRUMPF no longer matched, and Karl Leibinger decided to acquire TRUMPF Medical Systems. Another name change followed, which still exists today - KLS Martin GmbH + Co. KG. When Karl Leibinger bought the company, I was happy to stay because I enjoyed working in the Martin Group and then got even closer to the other group companies - in particular Gebrüder Martin and Karl Leibinger Medizintechnik. Karl Leibinger, Christian Leibinger and I have become really good friends over the years and still are today. In 2007, Karl Leibinger offered me additional responsibility for marketing at Gebrüder Martin. Since then I have held this position and continue to be the managing director and development manager of KLS Martin GmbH + Co. KG in Freiburg.
When I think about how I managed to get into these positions, one of my principles has prevailed for me: "Whoever has power." I was able to learn that on my first day as a graduate student. As I have already indicated, the majority of Fritz Hüttinger Medizintechnik was taken over by TRUMPF at the time I started and the company thus became part of TRUMPF. This was accompanied by a change in management, which meant that the development manager who hired me no longer worked for the company. When I got to the office on my first day, nobody knew I was coming. No job was prepared and at the beginning I was on my own. I then organized myself, proactively approached others and gained visibility through good ideas, commitment, good performance and passion. I am also always open to new things and enjoy driving things forward and taking responsibility, which was certainly not bad for my career. In addition to business, it is also important to find a balance in your private life and thus get a different perspective on things. For example, I like to fly for my life and hope one day to travel the world with my Beechcraft Bonanza. The variety through a hobby gives you some distance from everyday work and then creates space for new ideas.
But the love of the job is also clearly a decisive factor for success. In my current position, I find it particularly exciting to see how the many group companies grow together and develop further. I used to always want to be the managing director of my own company. Due to the many freedoms and the exciting environment that the KLS Martin Group offers me, I have abandoned it and am totally happy with my position. It also feels a bit like my own company after almost 30 years. I think that's just great! By the way, my father is now also behind my decision at the time not to take over the family business and we have a very close relationship.
Apart from the duties of a managing director, I am aiming for a much more important position in the future: a member of the supervisory board - but not in a company, but with my later, hopefully numerous, grandchildren.
