Moving independence forward
Interview with Joachim Geiger, CEO of Liftstar GmbH
Demographic change, digitalization and the desire to remain independent for as long as possible are reshaping the market for home mobility. Cologne-based Liftstar GmbH has been active in this field for decades, with roots dating back to 1883 and its best-known brand, Lifta, approaching its 50th anniversary. Today, the family-owned group combines stairlifts, home lifts, and wheelchair lifts with an extensive service network. CEO Joachim Geiger explains why customer understanding remains Liftstar’s strongest competitive advantage, how technology is changing the home and why profitable growth matters more than growth at any price.
European Business: Mr. Geiger, you joined Liftstar in September 2025. What attracted you to a company specializing in home mobility?
Joachim Geiger: At first, I have to admit that stairlifts were not the most obvious next step in my career. I had spent 13 years with the Trilux Group and was ultimately responsible for sales, marketing and digitalization on the executive board. I had always worked with strong, leading brands. But once I got to know Liftstar, the picture changed very quickly. I found a privately owned, highly values-driven company, a market with excellent long-term prospects and, above all, a deeply entrepreneurial culture. When I met the people behind the business, I realized that this was a company where I wanted to be.
European Business: What has enabled Liftstar and the Lifta brand to remain successful for so many decades?
Joachim Geiger: The fundamental principle has never changed: we put the customer first. We are very good at understanding what people actually need and turning a product into a complete solution. A stairlift may look simple from the outside, but the technology and the individual installation are highly sophisticated. Yet technology must never distract us from the customer. Advice, installation, service and long-term support are just as important as the product itself. That combination is one of our strongest competitive advantages.
European Business: What makes Liftstar special?
Joachim Geiger: Our greatest unique selling point is the combination of premium products, personal consultation, and an outstanding nationwide service. Our customers do not buy a lift ‘off the shelf’, but an individual solution. That is why we continuously invest in our employees, service quality and our partnerships. We have 1.100 employees and a significant proportion of them work in service. A lift is not something you install and then forget. Reliability and availability matter enormously to our customers.
European Business: The portfolio has expanded considerably beyond the classic stairlift. What solutions do you offer today?
Joachim Geiger: Lifta remains our best-known brand and the stairlift remains a core product, but customer needs are broader than that. Today, our solutions also include home lifts that travel vertically between floors, as well as wheelchair lifts. Different specialist brands allow us to address different requirements and price segments. The principle behind all of them is the same: we want to enable people to live independently and comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible.
European Business: How important is innovation in a market where reliability is particularly critical?
Joachim Geiger: Innovation has to create genuine value. Our customers are not looking for technology simply because it is new. Products are becoming more digital and connected, creating opportunities for faster service, remote system information and additional safety functions. At the same time, design is becoming more important. Our new Lifta Luxor, for example, shows that a stairlift can be an attractive part of an interior rather than something people associate primarily with physical limitations. Reducing that stigma is an important part of innovation as well.
European Business: Could Liftstar’s role eventually extend beyond lifts altogether?
Joachim Geiger: Absolutely. We want to become even more of an enabler for independent living at home. Sensors, IoT, AI and, in the longer term, physical AI can make homes safer and easier to manage. Imagine technology that recognizes whether someone has fallen, whether an appliance has been left on or whether a light should be switched off automatically when a person moves to another floor. Not all of that is our core business today, but it fits perfectly with our purpose. Together with partners, we can build an ecosystem of useful services around the home.
European Business: Sustainability is another increasingly important issue. What role does the refurbished-lift business play?
Joachim Geiger: It is important in several ways.
Reusing lifts extends their service life and makes mobility solutions accessible to different customer groups. At the same time, every product that comes back to us provides valuable information. We see where wear occurs, how products have been used and what we can improve. Circularity therefore creates both environmental value and valuable insights. There is also a human aspect: we support customers not only when they need a lift, but also when changing circumstances mean they no longer need it.
European Business: Liftstar describes trust, responsibility and appreciation as central corporate values. How do they influence the organization?
Joachim Geiger: What impressed me most is that these values were not invented in a workshop and then placed on a wall. They grew out of the organization. Trust makes us fast because competent people do not need to be constantly controlled. Responsibility gives employees the opportunity to develop and make decisions. And appreciation defines how we deal with one another and with customers, who often contact us at a sensitive moment in their lives. These values are deeply rooted in the family business and are remarkably consistent across our operations in Germany, Austria and South Africa.
European Business: What is the strategic priority for the coming years?
Joachim Geiger: We want to strengthen our position as the company that makes independent living at home possible. That means outstanding service, high customer satisfaction, further investment in solutions and closer cooperation with specialist partners such as healthcare providers and care services. We also want to remain privately owned and grow profitably. Profitability gives us the freedom to invest in our people, our academy, technology and future solutions. Growth matters, but not growth at any price. Our ambition is to maintain our market leadership while continuing to earn the trust of our customers. That is the foundation on which everything else is built.