The First Employees
The 1950s, ’60s and ’70s bear witness to a tremendous spirit of optimism in Germany. Everything seems possible during the period of post-war economic expansion known as the Wirtschaftswunder, the economic miracle. Even Kurt Neuberger sees an opportunity for a new beginning. The only problem is a lack of resources – from money to space to decent machinery to a functional heating system. Fortunately, one resource at Kurt Neuberger KG is never in short supply: dedicated employees.
In the early years, there are no clear areas of responsibility. Everyone is responsible for everything. Alexander Gagg, one of the workshop’s first employees, assumes the task of setting up a tool room, and spends his Saturdays building work benches for the assembly stations. He also attends to the unreliable heating system. “I still remember spending most of one Christmas down in the basement, so I could make sure that the heaters worked well enough to keep the factory warm,” he recalls.
Dieter Herzog, who joins KNF in 1963, spends the following years setting up the entire sales and accounting departments as well as establishing order in production operations. He also ensures that all employees receive the money they have earned no matter the difficulties the company is facing. Each month, he personally knocks on the door of the company’s most important key account – a textile company for whose spinning machines KNF grinds the twisting rings. “I would always drive over there just before payday to collect the money. That is how we paid out wages and salaries. In cash!” Klaus Lakies still clearly remembers the Friday afternoons when everyone would pick up their pay envelopes. “The first thing we did was grab a beer together.”
Although they always receive their pay on time, the employees are well aware of the company’s predicament. They are anxious about receiving enough commissions and celebrate even the smallest achievements. “I remember that we once sent out five machines on a single day. That was one for the books,” Horst Brändle recounts. When Erich Becker joins KNF, he finally brings the breath of fresh air the company needs. He and Heinz Riedlinger develop the first pumps together and help the company reach its first breakthroughs.
“We started with molded diaphragms,” explains Josef Waibel, who founds the testing laboratory in 1971. “And then we built reciprocating compressors – Heinz Riedlinger’s pride and joy. Once they were built, he called up Mr. Becker and we demonstrated them all for him. Mr. Becker was so impressed that he popped open a bottle of champagne.”
Overtime, working on Saturdays while children played soccer in the courtyard, toiling together and celebrating together – all of this is part of everyday life for KNF’s first employees. “You could say that we all treated the company as if it were our own,” says Alexander Gagg, who stayed with the company until retirement. Dedication, experience and firm roots in the company remain important components of KNF’s success to this day.
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