Karl Winterhalter celebrated his 95th birthday on 24 November 2006. The son of an Endingen innkeeper, this Grand Old Man of German dishwashing technology remains in the best of physical and mental health. Twice a week he drives his car the seventeen kilometres from his home in the lovely town of Wasserburg on Lake Constance to the business premises in Meckenbeuren. Keeping in personal contact with the employees in this family-owned company is very important for "The Senior" (as they fondly refer to him).
"You are never successful by yourself," is his philosophy of life, applying equally to his own family and his "family" of employees. "I simply love seeing them all. After all, they're what helped me live to such a ripe old age," says Karl Winterhalter with a smile. His son, Jürgen Winterhalter (62), enjoys having his father about because he keeps the whole business in such a good humour. "And I hope he continues to do so for many more years!" Jürgen says.
Karl Winterhalter started out after the War with waffle irons, heaters and the "Backhexe" ("Baking Witch"), an electric oven for use in the home. With his wife, Gerda, he drove all over the country selling his products to farmers.
Then at a trade fair he saw a dishwashing machine for the first time. From then on, he couldn't get dishwashing technology out of his mind. "I find it difficult to name specific highlights of my career," The Senior goes on, "Rather, it is the sum total of many small successes and the, healthy growth of the company which have made it as large and important as it is today."
Solid business acumen, affordable investing and reinvesting earnings back into the company have given Winterhalter an excellent equity structure today, creating the best possible circumstances for grandson Ralph (28). Karl and Jürgen Winterhalter both agree that Ralph, representing the third generation of the family, will grow into the business just as well as the second generation did. Getting to know operating procedures, cultivating a feel for developing just what customers need, and keeping in personal contact with the market and with employees are certain to keep this family-owned company on the road to success.
" When I see the new products being developed by our R&D team I am filled with confidence for the future of the company. And we have a great team of employees who are firmly committed to the company. This is enough to make any company founder feel very proud," Karl Winterhalter is pleased to say.
His personal recipe for physical fitness includes a daily walk in the fresh air. To keep his mind in good form, he still likes to solve crossword puzzles. He consciously pays attention to his health, and a glass of wine is part of his daily ritual. Keeping close ties to the industry and the market, he is an avid reader of catering and hotel management magazines and professional journals, still likes to visit trade fairs and exhibitions, and keeps up contacts with his "old" business partners, customers and employees. Asked how he is doing, he replies, with cheerful charm, "I'm satisfied."
Winterhalter - then and now In his youth Karl discovered his technical talents and built his own toys. After finishing school and briefly working for an Endingen motorcar repair shop, (a real treasure chest for this ardent engineer), he passed his final examination at the State Clockmaker's School in Furtwangen in 1931.
Thereafter, the freshly groomed precision engineer began studying electronic engineering at the State Technical College in Karlsruhe and ended up working for the German Air Force in the "Prototype Construction Department" at Dornier in the Zeppelin city of Friedrichshafen. His most important invention during that time made a lasting mark on the aircraft industry - he received an inventor's award of 700 Reichsmarks for it. That was a lot of money back then, and together with his first salary (165 Reichsmarks) it enabled him to sign a loan as seed capital for the family's own house in Windhag including a first small production facility.
After the War, the inventor began to turn war rubble into oil lamps, flat irons, pressure-cookers, waffle irons, coffee mills, electric heaters and much, much more. His wife Gerda made sure that all orders were filled on time and took care of their little daughter Gerlinde (born 1939) and son Jürgen (born 1944). Despite the currency reform and the prevailing hard times, the "Backhexe" baking "witch" finally brought him his breakthrough in 1949. His customers began to consist increasingly of caterers and restaurant proprietors. He visited trade fairs in nearby Friedrichshafen, as well as in Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt and Bolzano. Then, at a Freiburg consumer fair in 1954, he first discovered the dishwashing machine. Shortly thereafter, he sketched the first Winterhalter dishwasher, the GS 60, on a scrap of paper.
According to the minutes of a Meckenbeuren town council meeting in 1956, the mayor established that "the personal and economic circumstances of Mr. Winterhalter are in very good order," and that he was "a hard-working manufacturer" who had "built up a solid business" and thus "nothing stands in the way of his setting up business here."
The prototype of the Winterhalter GS 60 dishwasher was presented in 1957. The first year's total production was six machines. By 1960 the figure had grown to 563.
Karl Winterhalter has this to say of his success: "From the very beginning, we concentrated on our target group. We followed up every wish our customers had, whether in Munich, Hamburg or Berlin. What was always very important to me was keeping up a dialogue with caterers and hotel proprietors. In this way, we were able to specialise more and more, and become the professional commercial dishwashing technology company that we are today. Our motto is, 'We do not sell machines, we sell clean glasses, dishes and utensils'."
Winterhalter has specialised in the field of commercial dishwashing for over half a century. From a medium-size, family-owned business, it has grown into an international, owner-operated industrial enterprise. Today, with nearly 900 employees, sixteen branch offices and more than fifty general agencies, it is successfully supplying commercial dishwashers around the world. With production facilities in Germany and Switzerland, Winterhalter is the leading complete system solution supplier for dishwashers, detergent products, water treatment and accessories.
www.winterhalter.biz
"You are never successful by yourself," is his philosophy of life, applying equally to his own family and his "family" of employees. "I simply love seeing them all. After all, they're what helped me live to such a ripe old age," says Karl Winterhalter with a smile. His son, Jürgen Winterhalter (62), enjoys having his father about because he keeps the whole business in such a good humour. "And I hope he continues to do so for many more years!" Jürgen says.
Karl Winterhalter started out after the War with waffle irons, heaters and the "Backhexe" ("Baking Witch"), an electric oven for use in the home. With his wife, Gerda, he drove all over the country selling his products to farmers.
Then at a trade fair he saw a dishwashing machine for the first time. From then on, he couldn't get dishwashing technology out of his mind. "I find it difficult to name specific highlights of my career," The Senior goes on, "Rather, it is the sum total of many small successes and the, healthy growth of the company which have made it as large and important as it is today."
Solid business acumen, affordable investing and reinvesting earnings back into the company have given Winterhalter an excellent equity structure today, creating the best possible circumstances for grandson Ralph (28). Karl and Jürgen Winterhalter both agree that Ralph, representing the third generation of the family, will grow into the business just as well as the second generation did. Getting to know operating procedures, cultivating a feel for developing just what customers need, and keeping in personal contact with the market and with employees are certain to keep this family-owned company on the road to success.
" When I see the new products being developed by our R&D team I am filled with confidence for the future of the company. And we have a great team of employees who are firmly committed to the company. This is enough to make any company founder feel very proud," Karl Winterhalter is pleased to say.
His personal recipe for physical fitness includes a daily walk in the fresh air. To keep his mind in good form, he still likes to solve crossword puzzles. He consciously pays attention to his health, and a glass of wine is part of his daily ritual. Keeping close ties to the industry and the market, he is an avid reader of catering and hotel management magazines and professional journals, still likes to visit trade fairs and exhibitions, and keeps up contacts with his "old" business partners, customers and employees. Asked how he is doing, he replies, with cheerful charm, "I'm satisfied."
Winterhalter - then and now In his youth Karl discovered his technical talents and built his own toys. After finishing school and briefly working for an Endingen motorcar repair shop, (a real treasure chest for this ardent engineer), he passed his final examination at the State Clockmaker's School in Furtwangen in 1931.
Thereafter, the freshly groomed precision engineer began studying electronic engineering at the State Technical College in Karlsruhe and ended up working for the German Air Force in the "Prototype Construction Department" at Dornier in the Zeppelin city of Friedrichshafen. His most important invention during that time made a lasting mark on the aircraft industry - he received an inventor's award of 700 Reichsmarks for it. That was a lot of money back then, and together with his first salary (165 Reichsmarks) it enabled him to sign a loan as seed capital for the family's own house in Windhag including a first small production facility.
After the War, the inventor began to turn war rubble into oil lamps, flat irons, pressure-cookers, waffle irons, coffee mills, electric heaters and much, much more. His wife Gerda made sure that all orders were filled on time and took care of their little daughter Gerlinde (born 1939) and son Jürgen (born 1944). Despite the currency reform and the prevailing hard times, the "Backhexe" baking "witch" finally brought him his breakthrough in 1949. His customers began to consist increasingly of caterers and restaurant proprietors. He visited trade fairs in nearby Friedrichshafen, as well as in Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt and Bolzano. Then, at a Freiburg consumer fair in 1954, he first discovered the dishwashing machine. Shortly thereafter, he sketched the first Winterhalter dishwasher, the GS 60, on a scrap of paper.
According to the minutes of a Meckenbeuren town council meeting in 1956, the mayor established that "the personal and economic circumstances of Mr. Winterhalter are in very good order," and that he was "a hard-working manufacturer" who had "built up a solid business" and thus "nothing stands in the way of his setting up business here."
The prototype of the Winterhalter GS 60 dishwasher was presented in 1957. The first year's total production was six machines. By 1960 the figure had grown to 563.
Karl Winterhalter has this to say of his success: "From the very beginning, we concentrated on our target group. We followed up every wish our customers had, whether in Munich, Hamburg or Berlin. What was always very important to me was keeping up a dialogue with caterers and hotel proprietors. In this way, we were able to specialise more and more, and become the professional commercial dishwashing technology company that we are today. Our motto is, 'We do not sell machines, we sell clean glasses, dishes and utensils'."
Winterhalter has specialised in the field of commercial dishwashing for over half a century. From a medium-size, family-owned business, it has grown into an international, owner-operated industrial enterprise. Today, with nearly 900 employees, sixteen branch offices and more than fifty general agencies, it is successfully supplying commercial dishwashers around the world. With production facilities in Germany and Switzerland, Winterhalter is the leading complete system solution supplier for dishwashers, detergent products, water treatment and accessories.
www.winterhalter.biz
