The basic conditions couldn’t be better: In wonderful summer weather at the end of June, two dozen military attachés came from the capital Berlin to Swabia, to ensure themselves of the potential of the Kärcher Group directly on site.
Background: Military attachés do not only represent the armed forces of their countries, they also transmit their impressions of the host country directly to their home countries. Kärcher Futuretech GmbH, which has a lot of experience in dealing with military guests as a long-standing supplier to the Bundeswehr, was particularly pleased to welcome these international guests.
As early as 21 years ago, Managing Director Helmut Stelzmüller and the owner of Alfred Kärcher GmbH & Co. KG at that time, Irene Kärcher, had already invited international military attachés and won them over with the Swabian entrepreneurial spirit.
The attachés were cordially welcomed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alfred Kärcher GmbH & Co. KG, Hartmut Jenner, who received the guests in the premises in Obersontheim.
They were not only given an introduction to the success story of the company, but also had a chance to visit the production halls and see many different products at various production stages. As an exclusive additional extra, the attachés from many different countries of the world had the opportunity to see the highly mobile compact TEP 90 decontamination system in action.
In a presentation which lasted almost an hour, the Bruchsal NBC defence regiment demonstrated the large range of applications of the so-called Troop Disinfection, Detoxification and Radioactive Decontamination Site (TEP), the most modern system of its kind in the world.
The product presentation was completed by a live demonstration of the water purification and water bottling systems at the future headquarters of Kärcher Futuretech in Schwaikheim near Winnenden. As the attachés observed how drinking water is prepared from the source to consumption, they were offered purified, bottled drinking water as refreshment in the great heat.
Lieutenant Colonel (General Staff) Toby Schmitt, who accompanied the military attachés on their trip on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, was fascinated: “Military attachés are a very challenging audience for the company. Impressing attachés is not easy. But this is exactly what the company succeeded in doing during this visit.”
One important contribution to this event was at least that the attachés could actively experience Swabian company culture, which the Head of Company, Hartmut Jenner, made a focal point of the company presentation. Extensive talks about this subject were, for example, possible during dinner, which was prepared in a Kärcher Futuretech field kitchen.
New contacts were consolidated in an agreeable atmosphere in front of the farm house in the grounds of Hotel Sonnenhof in Kleinaspach (near Backnang).
Kärcher Futuretech Managing Director Helmut Stelzmüller was pleased by the positive feedback: “We would be glad if the military attachés took their impressions from here to their home countries and let their people know about our state-of-the-art products. And I am quite sure, it won’t take us another 21 years to invite military attachés again to Swabia.”
For further information, please visit www.kaercher-futuretech.com
