Kerstin Hochmüller comes from marketing but is now the managing director of Marantec – the family company that her husband founded more than thirty years ago.
The medium-sized company now relies on flat hierarchies and has built a new management team.
In an interview with Business Insider, Hochmüller also encourages other medium-sized companies to use the current challenges to position themselves successfully for the future.
On the outskirts of the town of Harsewinkel is one of the medium-sized companies so typical of Germany. The production hall and an office building of the Marantec company are located between the East Westphalian fields and farms. Drives for garages and entrance gates are produced here and sold worldwide. Few people are familiar with the company, but with a turnover of around 100 million euros and more than 500 employees, it is an important pillar of the region.
When we enter the building, it is quiet with only a few office workers to be seen. This could be mainly due to the fact that many employees have been working from home since the corona pandemic. Kerstin Hochmüller is the managing director and took over the Marantec family business from her husband eight years ago. Her husband founded the company in 1989.
The 55-year-old actually comes from marketing. Her goal when taking over CEO responsibility: not to run the company like a classic medium-sized company. Everyone is still allowed to work from home, while in many other companies employees have had to go back to the office.