Change – our only constant
We started the year 2021 full of confidence. Unfortunately, we were then only able to celebrate our anniversaries “100 Years of Ersa” and “50 Years of Foam Machines” at Kurtz with restrictions due to the pandemic. In the year 242 of our company history, however, there were many more changes to cope with, which we report on in this issue of the Kurtz Ersa Magazine.
We have once again proven that we are serious when it comes to responding adequately to upcoming changes. In the field of technology, our “Print Your Production” concept has presented us with a major challenge, which we are tackling with enthusiasm. Connectivity and software are also becoming increasingly important for us. The issue of sustainability has now taken on a dominant position in all our business units.
We have recently strengthened our company through inorganic growth in the area of automation in order to be perceived even more strongly by our customers as a total concept developer. The strategic positioning with three strong pillars has proven itself for our company in the past and it is now significantly more stable again as a result of an acquisition.
At the end of the year, the brothers Walter, Bernhard and Rainer Kurtz left the company as shareholders. Thus, the transition from the sixth to the seventh generation of our family business has now been completed. The transition from one generation to the next is a practiced tradition at Kurtz. Here, too, we are continuously renewing ourselves.
Consequently, renewal is also the order of the day in the management – Rainer Kurtz will hand over his long-standing function as CEO to Ralph Knecht. He in turn will be succeeded as Ersa Managing Director by Dr. Michael Fischer. The entrepreneurial family agrees that Kurtz Ersa should remain a diversified industrial group. To this end, it is committed both on the advisory board and through the newly elected spokespersons of the family council.
The corporate design, including the company´s guiding principles under the motto “ONE FAMILY”, has also been completely aligned with the family business theme. And a word on my own behalf. Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of writing umpteen editorials for the Kurtz Ersa Magazine – an exciting task that has been a lot of fun.
I hope you, dear readers, will again enjoy this new issue and remain with a heartfelt “Glück auf”!
Your Rainer Kurtz
