"We have the right people because no amount of money can replace humans, and we have the know-how," says Herbert Bender, Managing Director of Selectrona GmbH. "In our region live people who like to engage in complex topics. This benefits us."

Commitment and knowledge are also necessary because Selectrona delivers 90% of its parts to the automotive industry. The TIER-1 customers receive from Selectrona plastic-encapsulated conductor tracks, plastic-metal connections, and 2K and 3K plastic connections, stator/rotor encapsulations, casings with multiple inserts, gravity-dropped plastic parts, and cable encapsulations.

In addition to the automotive industry, the company also serves other sectors such as the general industry and the household industry, as well as manufacturers of household appliances and home technology. "However, we primarily supply markets where the automotive industry is located," explains authorized signatory and Technical Director Jörg Anderl.

Successfully Restructured

The company known today as Selectrona GmbH was founded in 1992 and quickly became a significant employer in the region with its production of molded contact parts for the automotive industry. The Elbe or Müglitztal floods of 2002 in Schlottwitz destroyed large parts of the production, which was subsequently rebuilt at the Schlottwitz and Dippoldiswalde-Reinholdshain sites, with an additional production site added in the Czech Republic in 2013. The following years, up until the planned insolvency in 2018, were marked by further growth.

After a successful restructuring, company founder Walter Söhner bought the company back in 2020. "We have learned from the past mistakes and have done our homework, as numerous new orders testify," emphasizes Managing Director Herbert Bender. Today, Selectrona employs 320 staff in Germany, in addition to 30 trainees in technical and commercial areas, and another 50 employees in the Czech Republic. The current revenue stands at 65 million EUR.

Maximally Sustainable

"Our sales department, with five employees, takes care of our customers," explains Jörg Anderl. "Furthermore, we participate as exhibitors and visitors at various trade fairs for automotive suppliers." Social media is utilized by Selectrona, among other things, for recruiting new personnel. Industry 4.0 has long since arrived at this innovative company. Thus, the modern ERP system enables the traceability of batches, and the machines used provide information about quality and possible errors.

As a supplier to the automotive industry, the operation is also up to date in terms of sustainability. "We have an environmental and energy management system and are constantly working on these issues," assures Herbert Bender. "In a major project, we increased our electricity production through photovoltaics to 1,800 kWp and switched our lighting to LEDs. In the plant, we rely on sustainable recyclable materials in the cycle, use gas only as a small reserve for emergencies, and heat our offices with waste heat from the compressors."

Finding solutions together

"We have a relatively young team with a good mix of experienced and younger employees," says Jörg Anderl. "Cooperation and the search for common solutions are our main focus. The era of the patriarchs is a thing of the past." It also fits that many of the middle management employees are grown within the company. "In Germany, we need to accompany our customers with a team-oriented approach," knows CEO Herbert Bender. "In doing so, we want to demonstrate our technical competence even in niches. That's why we aim for a healthy mix of industries, for example, with building and electrical engineering. Those who are not willing to destroy the good cannot become better. Another future topic for us is hydrogen."