Daniel (left) and Andreas Sennheiser
Painful, but successful renovation.
(Photo: imago images / Future Image)
Dusseldorf Andreas and Daniel Sennheiser get high visit next Thursday. Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) pays a visit to the entrepreneurs on his journey through the middle class. Her grandfather Fritz founded the “Laboratory Wennebostel” in Hanover in 1945.
Today is Sennheiser a leading manufacturer of headphones, speakers, microphones and wireless transmission technology: a family-owned, globally successful medium-sized enterprise – the much quoted “backbone of the German economy”.
But many medium-sized companies feel neglected by politician and minister Altmaierwho would like to build up European industrial champions. Also Daniel, 46, and Andreas Sennheiser, 45, have demands on the minister.
“We need in Germany more openness for innovation, more ingenuity and more courage for new things. We hope that Mr. Altmaier the middle class supported in this way, “says Andreas Sennheiser, The policy must ensure meaningful and reliable regulation.
The audio specialist can only be a global player thanks to constant innovation. The industry is buzzing, but new players like Apple with Beats or Skull Candy have shaken up the market. According to Midia Research, Sennheiser temporarily dropped back to sixth in the world for headphones. So the Germans jumped late on the trend towards wireless headphones on.
Trend detected too late
Sennheiser lost market share and sales, wrote losses. The brothers made the organization more flexible, saved millions of euros and dismissed employees.
The renovation was painful, but successful. Turnover increased by 6.4 percent in 2018 to 710 million euros. The operating profit was 21 million euros. Nearly 2,900 employees work for Sennheiser, half of them in Germany. How the location of Germany can be made more attractive should also be a question for Minister Altmaier.
“To counteract the shortage of skilled workers, it is important that we set up the German education system accordingly and at the same time bring specifically qualified workers from abroad to Germany,” stresses Daniel Sennheiser.
The medium-sized company itself invests heavily in know-how and new technologies. In 2018, more than 60.5 million euros flowed into research and development, which is 8.5 percent of sales. “The researcher gene puts us in the bone,” joke the brothers like.
Sound system in luxury electric cars
They also hope for innovative impulses from Dear Reality, where they have held the majority since July. The Düsseldorf-based company specializes in audio software for virtual and augmented reality. “For us, 3D audio is the future,” says Andreas Sennheiser, himself an electrical engineer and business economist.
Now the brothers venture the step into a whole new business field – the auto industry. Your Ambeo 3D sound system will be built into the electric cars of California luxury automaker Karma. “Karma combines the future of mobility with the future of audio technology,” says Daniel Sennheiser, who has studied product design. The brothers want to create the “best audio system in the industry”.
An ambitious goal, as Hi-Fi experts like Burmester are for Porsche and Mercedes or Bang & Olufsen for Audi been active here for a long time. The development at Sennheiser lasted two years. “We started from scratch.” But the brothers, both Waldorf students, are persistent.
Alexander Kind, head of the hearing aid manufacturer, characterizes the two as follows: “Customer focus, fast, efficient processes and innovative products determine their thoughts and actions.” Minister Altmaier can see for himself when he is guided through the factory in Wennebostel.
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