Everything Arranged for a Good Climate
Interview with Werner Ottilinger, Managing Director of SAUTER Deutschland, Sauter-Cumulus GmbH
Creating good climatic conditions for living, working or manufacturing in large buildings is a challenge - and the specialty of the Swiss SAUTER Group. With intelligent building automation, the German subsidiary Sauter-Cumulus GmbH from Freiburg creates the optimal climate for every need. Comfortable and maximally energy-efficient, their solutions are a win for everyone.
The product that Fritz Sauter started producing in 1910 was not far from the current offerings of the SAUTER Group. His electric time switches with astronomical circuit, which accounted for the movement of the sun, attracted a lot of attention at the time.
It was no different in 1919, when he entered the market with the Cumulus hot water storage heater he developed. During the subsequent expansion abroad, SAUTER Deutschland was founded in 1925 in the form of Sauter-Cumulus GmbH in Freiburg.
In 1935, the company laid the foundation for its current core business by developing devices for controlling heating and air conditioning. The development continuously progressed. By the end of the 1960s, the era of complex control and regulation functions for large buildings began, soon followed by the first software-controlled building automation.
Even today, SAUTER is still ahead of the game with its developments, reports Werner Ottilinger, Managing Director of SAUTER Germany: "Our latest development is called SAUTER modulo 6, an automation solution that is based on the Internet of Things (IoT). We first presented it in March 2019 at ISH Frankfurt."
Expansion Abroad
In other respects too, the signs point towards progress and growth. Two years ago, a new production facility was launched in Freiburg. Already in 2016, SAUTER Germany acquired the company Pandomus in Cologne and plans to continue expanding, as Werner Ottilinger explains: "Our goal is to position ourselves internationally at least throughout the EU. By acquiring two companies in London and Dublin in 2018, we have made a start."
With a total of 35 locations and 1,400 employees, SAUTER Germany is present in every major German city. The revenue, currently 240 million EUR, has doubled over the last ten years. The entire group generates an annual revenue of 400 million EUR with 2,200 employees.
Werner Ottilinger
Managing Director
"Customers do not buy from the company, but from our employees."
Werner Ottilinger
Managing Director
For Werner Ottilinger, who started as a project manager in 1987 and took over the management in 2004, his job is more than just a hobby: "It is my life," says the business administrator with technical and commercial background. In 2000, he founded Sauter FM GmbH, which specializes in facility management services.
Success Factor: Employees
The most important customers are investors and project developers. Whether in Munich's Allianz Arena, the One Forty West hybrid high-rise in Frankfurt am Main or Berlin's central station, SAUTER's building and room automation is in demand wherever modern and energy-efficient buildings are being developed.
Behind the innovative and reliable technology are those who are responsible for the success, emphasizes Werner Ottilinger: "Our strength is definitely the employees. Customers do not buy from the company, but from our employees."
However, there lies a problem as well: "There is especially a lack of technicians and craftsmen. We have already hired over 40 employees this year, but recruiting staff is quite challenging." There is, however, a prospect of improvement, the managing director believes: "I think the peak of the skills shortage has been passed."
Most employees remain loyal to his company. "A company affiliation of 25 to 40 years is not uncommon. We have low turnover of under 5%." Family structures, efforts to balance work-life with flexible working hours, and perks such as company cars and cell phones for private use contribute to employee satisfaction.
Changes in this area should also only occur to a healthy extent, according to Werner Ottilinger: "We do not jump on every trend." Benefits for investors Digitization is omnipresent in his business. "Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things have gained tremendous momentum. The development is difficult to calculate and channel. Behind these topics, there must be appropriate business models, that is the challenge. It is about developing marketable solutions. Because at the end of the day, digitization needs to reach the user of the property."
From politicians, he desires solutions that benefit investors in terms of the energy efficiency potential of buildings. "Often they must first invest, but the benefit goes to the tenant. This is a disproportion." For Werner Ottilinger, the fun of new solutions and technologies remains a priority. In this way, he wants to expand SAUTER Deutschland into a full-service provider.