"We love this family-oriented way of working!"

Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Michels, the Michels Group comprises various companies from different sectors. Please explain the structure of the group to us.

Kai-Uwe Michels: Our group includes specialized and rehabilitation clinics, day clinics, care facilities, and senior residences as well as hotels and vocational schools. We operate rehabilitation clinics in Saxony, Berlin-Brandenburg, and Lower Saxony with departments specializing in neurology, orthopedics, cardiology, and psychosomatic medicine. Additionally, there are rehabilitation day clinics in Berlin and Leipzig, two care centers for patients in a vegetative state, and other inpatient care facilities specializing in post-stroke care. These care facilities are complemented by senior residences in Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, and Thuringia. Another branch of our group includes hotels. This includes four hotels and a guesthouse on Norderney as well as two hotels on Sylt. Moreover, we rent out holiday apartments on Norderney and Sylt. Also part of our group are two vocational schools in Brandenburg and Saxony, where we train nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. Last but not least, we are co-owners of the newly founded ferry company 'Meine Fähre', which connects the island of Norderney with the mainland.

Wirtschaftsforum: Impressive. How did the development of such a diverse corporate group come about? Please tell us a bit about its history.

Kai-Uwe Michels: With pleasure. It all started in 1932 in Münster, Westphalia. That's where our family's cradle lies. Here, my grandfather Josef Michels began with repairing gutters, pots, and things like that. Together with my father Kurt, he developed it into a plumbing, heating, and air conditioning business after World War II. Initially operating in Münster and its surroundings, later the business expanded throughout Germany. In the early 1970s, my brother Kurt-Josef Michels joined the company, and the firm took its first cautious steps towards the service sector. On our family's home island of Norderney, the then company Josef Michels installed the first health clinic for the LVA Westphalia, and at the same time established connections with the island’s hotel industry. That was how the first hotel came about. The hotel enjoyed good occupancy during the summer, but in winter, many beds remained empty. So, we offered the beds, which were empty in the winter, to the current German Pension Insurance Federation for patients suffering from respiratory and skin diseases. Those were our first steps into the rehabilitation sector.

Wirtschaftsforum: Who owns the Michels Group of companies?

Kai-Uwe Michels: Since its foundation in 1932 up to today, the company has been family-owned. We don't have any external third parties involved. The company is majority-owned by my brother and me as a minority shareholder. This structure has proven to be very stable. We intend to maintain it and will not allow external third-party capital participation in the future. Therefore, we are also focusing on the next generation, which fortunately includes my nephew Johannes. That is why we are also considering a family-supported foundation.

Wirtschaftsforum: You have a wide range of activities in the group, including operating two vocational schools. What were the motivations for establishing these schools?

Kai-Uwe Michels: We assumed that we would be facing a shortage of skilled workers in nursing and therapy for many years to come. To address this issue, we launched the vocational training initiative, which is now flying at a reasonable altitude. That's why we can now integrate the first 19 young apprentices from our own nursing school into our facilities. That was the goal from the start. The same applies to physiotherapists and occupational therapists. We plan to start training speech therapists soon. To recruit nursing staff, we are also involved abroad. My nephew can tell you more about that.

Johannes Michels: Several years ago, we decided to bypass the traditional agencies for recruiting nursing staff from abroad. Therefore, we set up a language school in Albania in cooperation with the Goethe Institute. Since we had already had good experiences with Albanian specialists, we chose this country. We are currently teaching about 50 nursing professionals and physiotherapists from Albania in the school. In the German classes, we bring them up to level B2. Afterwards, they come to Germany and take their recognition examination at our vocational school. After that, they can be employed as fully qualified nursing staff on the wards. We do something similar with partners in Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, and Uzbekistan.

European Business: How is your sales organized across the different business areas?

Johannes Michels: In our hotels and holiday apartments, we have many regular guests. We do not need to do much advertising, but we also use common booking portals.

Kai-Uwe Michels: Around our specialist clinics, we have built up well-functioning networks with clinics, social workers, chief physicians, and professional associations. We are in constant contact with these actors. There are also different websites for all areas.

European Business: How digital is the Michels Corporate Group?

Johannes Michels: Digitalization is extremely important for us. We pursue innovative approaches not only in system automation but also in the field of robotics. For example, we use robots at night in our geriatric rehabilitation facilities to relieve the nursing staff. The robot moves along the corridors and detects through closed room doors whether everything is okay: if the patient is sleeping, is restless, or has stable breathing, and other factors. We also use a digital patient chart that can be accessed from anywhere. Our administration is also digitally organized, and we use cross-sector synergies here.

European Business: And what about sustainability?

Kai-Uwe Michels: Sustainability has been a topic for us long before it became widely recognized. We generate energy using photovoltaics, and we no longer have oil and gas heating systems. We are intensively engaged in waste management, for example, the sensible reuse of food waste. For patient transports, we are switching to electric vehicles. There are many topics in this area that we are addressing.

European Business: What accounts for the nearly 100-year success of the family business?

Kai-Uwe Michels: Primarily continuity, stability, and quality. People know they can rely on us. But the most important thing is the nearly 4,000 people who work for us.

European Business: What are the most important topics for you in the coming years?

Kai-Uwe Michels: We want to remain highly innovative and have no investors in our company.