Family – A Secret to Success
Family-owned companies are the backbone of the German economy. They provide more than half of all jobs in the country and even generate jobs during difficult periods. One of the reasons for this is that foresight is one of the greatest strengths of family-owned companies. From small workshops to huge corporations, they are all planning with future generations in mind. And Erich Becker – who takes over KNF in 1966 when it is still a small machine workshop and transforms it into an internationally renowned diaphragm pump manufacturer – is no different. He, too, is constantly driven by the aim of creating a successful company for his sons to take over.
A journey back in time to Freiburg-Munzingen in the 1970s. It’s already evening, but Erich Becker is still in his office, papers piled up high on his desk. His sons Martin and Andreas Becker are with him. They while away the time by imagining that a sweeper is a racing car and they run around with it through the hall, much to the employees’ amusement. Little Paul is also occasionally allowed to visit his father at work with his mother Erdmuthe Becker – he is the secretary’s favorite! The Becker’s family life always takes place at the office as well as at home.
Martin Becker still feels at home in KNF’s factory halls today, whether he is in Freiburg-Munzingen, France or India. “I feel privileged to be able to continue managing such a well-positioned company,” he says. He recalls how his father founded KNF’s first companies abroad before the concept of globalization had even been born. Erich Becker established KNF France in the 1960s, before setting up premises in the USA in the 1970s and starting to work with Japan in the 1980s. “We still benefit enormously from his foresight and tenacity.”
Martin Becker, too, is always thinking a step ahead. In 2010, he launches a corporate strategy for the ensuing 15 years. Touching all areas of the company, KNF 2025 is a huge endeavor and has resulted in some fundamental changes. Examples range from the realignment of every single job to prepare the company for the digital age to the reorganization of the Management Board. It will soon be time to plan the next corporate strategy, which will heavily involve the third generation.
Germany is home to a diverse array of family-owned companies. But behind every address is a totally normal family made up of people with different personalities, opinions and visions. Remaining successful for generations while staying close as a family is no mean feat. To be on the safe side, the Beckers wrote a family charter, which lays down the company’s succession plans and provides guidelines on how to run the company and treat one another. It is a type of “family constitution” and the effect of its most important values and convictions can be felt across the company group.
Far from ending with children, cousins or grandchildren, the KNF family stretches across six continents and 17 locations. It is this diversity and these different cultures and specialist areas that are the source of both KNF’s greatest strengths and its biggest challenge. “A company is only successful if it has dedicated staff to rely on.” This fundamental principle at the core of the family-owned KNF has never been written down, but transcends generations.
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