About Andreas Engelhardt
Andreas Engelhardt, Managing Partner and CEO of Schüco International KG, has been promoting the company's "Value Up" campaign, which focuses on building renovation and circular construction. In a March 2025 interview, he described existing buildings as "the raw material depots of the future" and stated that Schüco offers solutions ranging from minimally invasive improvements to full circular deconstruction and recycling. He emphasized that collaboration with metal fabricators is essential for the industry's development and that he personally works on developing a logistical system for taking back and recycling installed materials.
Engelhardt has also discussed his background and political views. In a February 2025 podcast, he noted that he became personally liable partner of Schüco with a secondary school leaving certificate and described the role as involving unlimited personal liability. He has criticized Germany's high construction costs, stating that "37% are state-induced." Regarding sustainability, Engelhardt has long advocated for Cradle to Cradle principles, arguing in 2017 that products should be developed to "100 percent go back into the cycle" and that Germany should use Cradle to Cradle as an "export hit." He has also called for public procurement to prioritize sustainability over lowest-price bidding.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Andreas Engelhardt's recent appearances.
Browse all interviews →
Transcript (6 segments)
I
Interviewer0:09
We are sitting here in the new showroom. We opened this wonderful showroom a few weeks ago, where we can show all the innovations to our customers, partners, architects, and metalworkers, not only during the trade fair but also in between. So, this is the heart of all innovation. What is your strategy for Schüco?
A
Andreas Engelhardt0:34
The strategy for Schüco is our core mission: we develop and market products and systems to reduce energy costs worldwide. The mission of sustainability, making buildings efficient, is our main task. This remains the most important driver for us. Energy resources are limited; the only way to contribute to savings is to actually save, and our products and systems are ideally suited for that. The second point is simplifying systems, making installation and connection easier for metalworkers, ensuring quality in a faster timeframe. They need to be able to assemble more in less time, and ultimately, Schüco's quality distinguishes it from other systems. The role of the metalworker: he is our most important partner who delivers our products and our seal of quality to customers. Therefore, we support them particularly intensively, training and educating them, helping them expand their technical and productive horizons. The requirements for the building envelope must also be met by our partners, and we accompany them on this path to ensure they can handle these things safely and without risk.
I
Interviewer2:21
Mr. Engelhardt, what are the special challenges for Schüco?
A
Andreas Engelhardt2:25
The special challenges for us as market leaders are to clearly demonstrate to our partners and decision-makers what we do best, focusing on our core business. We concentrate all our efforts, whether from engineers or investments, on improving our performance in metal construction. Schüco has experienced a particular focus in recent months, which was one of my most important decisions with management. We focus on our competencies in metal construction. The most important change I've introduced as CEO: on one hand, directing all internal processes to focus on our core business, which required some internal adjustments. We invest in areas aligned with metal construction, as seen in this showroom. We also emphasize the speed of our processes—it's not the big that beats the small, but the fast that beats the slow. In a service-oriented business where quality and service play a huge role, we want to show customers that we continuously improve. Therefore, we've implemented faster decisions, shorter processes, and flat hierarchies, making significant progress that customers feel. Regarding new products, systems, and concepts for metalworkers, we've showcased innovations at trade fairs. Two key things crystallize: one is what simplifies installation and assembly, hence we developed Simply Smart, a system that offers metalworkers significant time savings with easy assembly of fittings—a new concentration we're bringing to the market with great interest. The second is renovation topics: we've brought our own modernization facade to market, allowing installation without major disruption to occupants, bringing buildings up to technical standards. This product will play a significant role in the increasing renovation of existing buildings. We also have future-oriented topics for architects and planners, like our parametric facade, enabling architectural freedom. We show this impressively here, where modern young architects open to three-dimensional construction can take a big step further. The delicate safety of the profiles and clean systems make architects' and planners' hearts beat faster. For high-end residential construction, we have sliding doors—large glass sliding systems with safe, narrow profiles, used where long views and spatial enlargement are important, meeting qualitative requirements of being delicate yet tight and insulated.
I
Interviewer6:40
How is the topic of photovoltaics developing from your perspective, and what significance does it have for facade builders and metalworkers?
A
Andreas Engelhardt6:48
We have made a clear strategic decision: we will focus on products and systems directly related to the metalworker business. Photovoltaics-integrated facades are part of our development and product spectrum, but everything else in photovoltaics is no longer our core competence. The markets have changed, requiring focus, and we are working on models to bring the parts that don't belong to our core competence into a viable future, but we wouldn't represent them alone.
