That's the Proper Tone
Interview with Andreas Steffens, Managing Director of Steffens Systems GmbH
Without a good sound system, the acoustic conditions in churches or large halls pose a challenge for the clear understanding of spoken words. Steffens Systems GmbH has been known for over 60 years for its expertise in the field of hall and church acoustics and has been the market leader in this area for decades. Now, the Cologne-based company is also expanding into international markets.
In response to the question of why Steffens Systems GmbH has been continuously successful in its field throughout its existence, Managing Director Andreas Steffens has a clear answer: "I believe it's because we offer high-quality products that are truly Made in Germany," he says. "Moreover, some of our employees have been with us for decades – there is so much know-how concentrated here, which they also pass on to our younger employees. The quality of our products, our long-standing experience, and the entrepreneurial spirit typical for German SMEs, which also sees itself responsible towards employees, differentiate us from the competition."
Excellent Speech Reproduction
The portfolio of Steffens Systems includes custom audio systems for churches and large halls, namely speaker systems, amplifiers, and microphones. Particularly important products include the active, DSP-controlled sound columns of the EVO series, which are characterized by excellent speech reproduction, as well as the digital amplifiers of the MASTERTONE series.
"With these products, we can be very flexible in meeting the individual requirements of our customers," explains Andreas Steffens, who is confident that the topic of AI will increasingly play a role in product development in the future. "This will move towards learning systems that make our customers' work easier," the managing director looks ahead. Since the company's focus is in the ecclesiastical sector, the customers are primarily the individual congregations, the building authorities of the respective state churches and dioceses, as well as architects and planners.
International Expansion
Besides Germany, Steffens Systems is mainly active in Austria, Switzerland, and the Benelux countries. However, the company has also ventured into international markets such as the USA, Brazil, South Korea, Singapore, and China, expanding its target groups. "The reason for this is that hardly any new churches are being built in Germany. Meanwhile, foreign markets in this area are growing stronger and there are also other target groups that we can serve with our products, such as auditoriums, universities, train stations, and airports," the managing director summarizes. "For the next three years, our goal is to find competent partners abroad who share our goals and values as well as our philosophy."