#039 SYSTEMKOMPETENZ Ein Name der Programm ist - Interview mit Hartmut Jenner CEO von Kärcher

Thank you. I'd like to briefly tell something from my life. Winfried, I know you're looking at me like 'now I finally have him here and he wants to tell you about his life.' But give me a minute. I grew up in a village. Our house was on a hill, my grandparents lived downstairs. Every day I went to say good morning and good night. I remember my grandpa cleaning terrace tiles, and I said, 'I want to do that too someday.' Second story: my father was a plumber and heating installer. I often went to work with him. Sometimes we had to clean drains. The first device I was allowed to operate, when I was about six, he let me use it. Third thing that gives me goosebumps: in 1997 Schalke 04 won the UEFA Cup. I was in the Park Stadium with over 50,000 people watching the game on a screen. And the name on my shirt was Winfried Kirche.

It's true, I think about it often. When you introduce yourself to a stranger and say your company, everyone knows what you're talking about. We're not a huge company, we're a solid mid-sized business. But everyone can interpret something with the products, and I'm happy when they associate something good with it. Honestly, it makes me very happy.

And dear Winfried, the fact that Schalke 04 won the UEFA Cup and the company was the shirt sponsor is about as likely as Dieter Bohlen winning Eurovision. It's almost unheard of. Is that also a sign that the company makes good decisions? We'll never get that much reach with a Schalke shirt again as on that day in 1997. The decision was good, not just because of the shirt, but it felt good. And in general, the decisions are good. There are few German companies that have a verb named after them. I just swept my terrace, everyone knows Kärcher. And I know many Kärcher employees who are very proud. When you say your company and everyone knows it without explanation, that's something.

That's true, it's been a long time with many facets. I think we are in a reduction phase. A family business normally has generational leadership of about 30 years. But with Kärcher, due to age structure, the children were too young. So they looked for a generation of managers, and because I became responsible at a young age, it was the company's idea and also mine. I come from farming, where you think in generations. You plant a tree and don't know if you'll harvest it. That's always been my attitude. I see myself as an entrepreneur within the company, not as an employee. Entrepreneur is the right job description. I will eventually retire in a few years, I'm 57 now. But the important thing is that decisions made now will have long-term effects. I believe corporate leaders are only relay runners. They have to hand over the baton optimally for the next person to have a good run. That's how I see my task.

Let me briefly describe: 3.2 billion euros in sales, 15,500 employees, 86% of sales outside Germany, a global company, 35% of employees in Germany. 50% B2B sales. Our products range from 29 euros to 1 million euros. We have a huge range from custom products to mass production. We sell through all channels: trade, large area, online, direct sales, especially in B2B. We have our own Kärcher stores and our own retail. This diversity makes the company exciting. Our core product is high-pressure cleaning, invented by Alfred Kärcher and developed for the consumer market, but still the largest revenue share overall. We also have sweeping, scrubbing, and other cleaning applications. But we also do water purification – we can clean chemically contaminated water instantly, mobile worldwide, the only company with such capability. And we are far ahead in air purification. I can say that in about 18 months we will bring a world revolution in air purification. Current air purifiers are mostly passive, like air vacuum cleaners with filters. We will bring active air purification, which will be very exciting because it not only deals with bacteria and germs but also protects energy with filtration systems.

We have to show young people that we are not just the one product they imagine. The Steinbeis University students are always enthusiastic about the diversity of how they can apply their knowledge and create new science. They don't want to work on a small screw for 20 years; they want to deal with complexity. Kärcher offers that because we clean water and air, completely different elements. And students are interested in a company that is always cutting-edge. For example, our robotics. We are one of the few companies that programs the entire control system for our robotics ourselves – no black box. We can develop it further for additional applications. Today, robots are used in supermarkets to clean and also scan shelves to see where restocking is needed. At a discounter, our robot cleans at night, opens the safety gate itself, goes to the warehouse, and parks itself. It just needs to shop and pay up front.

On modernity: we realized we need people with different skills. In 2017, we bought a subsidiary with 23 IT colleagues; today it's 350. They are not on our campus but in a creative environment in Stuttgart that suits them. They have completely different workflows, and they are global with colleagues in Vietnam, El Salvador, Mexico, Barcelona. So we are building different structures, for example in IT. We also bought a service provider that handles recruitment and writes references. We have so many facets. We recently bought a marketing agency in Stuttgart. This modernity means we adapt to what people need to develop and have fun.

That's why I mentioned long-term thinking. You can have long-term strategies and visions. Vision is the implementation of strategies. You can look far ahead and stick with topics, not jump from horse to horse when there's a new boss. I've seen a partner company where a new boss changed strategy 180 degrees – difficult for people, customers, stakeholders. With long-term strategy, people know what they're getting into. We stay on it. For example, robotics: we developed the first consumer robot in 2001. But in the last four or five years, B2B robotics is pushing due to labor shortage. For example, building cleaning is not a popular job. So we decided to enter this young market. We knew it would grow and remain. And we chose not to buy the control system (the brain of the robot) from someone else, because then we'd be dependent and it wouldn't be perfectly suited. We develop it ourselves. We have a great department, and people are coming to us because word spread that we invest in robotics.

That's my job. I love it. I get to talk daily with the Vorstand, get insights, not only about what's new but also trends at other companies. At Kärcher, there's always something new, which makes it special. When I meet students, I ask them and they are enthusiastic. It's a rare trifecta: innovation, investment, and a long-term perspective. This is a traditional family business that believes in values, which appeals to the younger generation because it's about purpose, not just quarterly numbers.

What I always like is that we give young people a lot of responsibility from the start. We get that feedback often. We conduct an employee survey every two years worldwide, and last time 97% said they are proud to work here. Cleaning is a basic need in Maslow's hierarchy, like housing. And it's interesting that we are a mechanical engineering company but highly emotional – the color yellow suits us. We have mechanical engineering with heart, very dynamic. And we have a purpose: what we do helps people, hygienically, not just since Corona. This purpose is meaningful. Also, we think holistically about the value chain. A developer doesn't just make a small part; they make a complete product ready for market.

There are many moments. But one that moved me the most is that I’m a graduate engineer and business graduate, which allowed me to take on different roles. There is no discipline I haven't led: development manager, plant manager, purchasing manager, logistics manager, marketing chief, head of a sales subsidiary, CFO, and CEO – I was both for 15 years. Then I also was facility manager, strategy chief, communications chief. I've done everything, and every moment shaped me because each discipline is different. The key was that whenever something new came, I did it for about two years until I could reap the fruits, and then something new came. I enjoyed seeing things from all angles and understanding the processes. That's crucial for success.

They have to stop talking about applicants and thinking about talents. What makes Kärcher excellent is that they don't think 'we need personnel'; they achieve something and look for people who are as excited about it as they are. If you see yourself as a family, you want to bring in a new family member, not some applicant. That's why people come to Kärcher. And customers know that when they use Kärcher, they get future security. We're not stuck with a concept from ten years ago; we keep developing. I am part of this family, part of this movement. For ourselves, we must continue branding. We don't feel driven to jump on trends. Take sustainability: we were always far ahead. 20+ years ago we had the largest photovoltaic system in the Stuttgart region on our roofs in Winnenden. We've been recycling water for 30 years, introduced LED lamps early. We do these things naturally, not because a trend says so. It's about long-term, sustainable thinking as a family business, investing in the next generation. Employees can rely on us 100%. For example, we've always paid 75% of train tickets for the nearby station, support bicycle commuting. These small things make a company, not chasing trends.

Thank you very much. I hope the listeners at home also connect something with the name, like I did at the beginning. By the way, I slept in my Schalke Kärcher jersey for six days. My mother said I had to take it off to wash it eventually.