Mission Healthy Workplaces
Interview with Andreas Krieg, Managing Director and Owner of KRIEG Industriegeräte GmbH & Co. KG
Flexibility and ingenuity can help to overcome difficult times. KRIEG Industriegeräte GmbH & Co. KG sets an example. The family business, specializing in ergonomic worktables for industry and trade companies, has been doing even more for the health of workers since Corona - and in the future also for students.
Helping workers achieve healthier workplaces is the mission of KRIEG Indus-triegeräte GmbH & Co. KG. In the field of workplace systems for manufacturing, logistics, assembly, and testing, it ranks among the top five providers. With its subsidiary Geramöbel, it has also been present in the office furniture market since 1993.
65 years ago, Günter Krieg began manufacturing cutting tables for the textile industry. Since 1995, his son Andreas Krieg has been leading the company. He reports: "The company has grown continuously. There were setbacks during crises, but afterwards, things always picked up again." This trend continued during the Corona crisis: "The first lockdown led to a 30% drop in revenue. By autumn, we had recovered from it. Now the situation is stabilizing," says Andreas Krieg. The annual revenue of the company, which employs 110 people, was last reported at 20 million EUR.
New Segment: Home Office
KRIEG designs workspaces in such a way that the employee's strain and productivity are optimized. They offer fully configured setups as well as a modular system which allows customers to configure their desk from various elements. The third option is to have workspaces planned according to completely individual requirements.
"Our major strengths include the variety of components that allow for the design of diverse workspaces, rapid delivery, and our high planning competence," explains the Managing Director. Similarly, in the office furniture sector. Besides tables, Geramöbel also manufactures other office furniture such as chairs, cabinets, and rolling containers.
Andreas Krieg particularly points out the high quality of the height-adjustable workstations. "People also have high expectations for their home workspace. A new segment is now emerging in the home office market," he explains.
Almost all office furniture is delivered within 48 hours, and even smaller orders are accepted. All products are made from wood and steel, making them recyclable and thus meeting the sustainability standards they have set for themselves. "This is also a big issue in transportation and shipping. We try to avoid plastic and work a lot with biodegradable packaging materials," says Andreas Krieg.
New Product Field Hygiene
Corona led to another new product field for KRIEG in the summer of 2020, Andreas Krieg reports: "We have developed hygiene columns for hand disinfection and launched them on the market." The patented mobile columns are equipped with a lever-operated dispenser for disinfectants and have a capacity of 1 liter, sufficient for 300 disinfection operations. "The sale of over 10,000 such columns has cushioned the downturn in standard business," says the managing director.
KRIEG has just introduced mobile hygiene columns for large events that hold up to 10 liters. All hygiene columns are visually appealing and of high quality. "As a small company, we can respond quickly with such products. Our employees have also done a great job," says Andreas Krieg. He is convinced of the future of hygiene products: "Hygiene will remain an issue even after Corona."
Another product, also inspired by Corona, has just hit the market: KRIEG has developed an air purifier that uses a HEPA 14 filter to filter out bacteria and viruses from the room six times per hour. It is initially to be used in schools, kindergartens, and public facilities. Test devices have already been installed. "With this, we want to contribute to reducing the risk of infection among children and adolescents. In Germany, there is a great need to catch up. In South Korea, there is no classroom without a filter," reports Andreas Krieg, who is convinced that in addition to distance, technical means are necessary to combat the Corona virus.
Workplaces of the Future
The main market for KRIEG's products is Germany. In addition, the company delivers throughout the DACH region as well as to Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Driven by his mission to create healthy workplaces, Andreas Krieg continues to push forward. "Our goal is to continue playing a leading role with all our products in the future." New developments are contributing to this aim. Currently, electrically adjustable desks are in production that allow a very individual setting via stored values about the user. Further developments, such as desks controlled via smartphone, are on the horizon.