The President & CEO of LAUDA, Dr. Gunther Wobser, together with the Managing Director of LAUDA France, Eric Couche, his designated successor, the current Sales Director of LAUDA France, Maxime Sabre, and the Managing Director of LAUDA, Dr. Ralf Hermann.
Company celebrates Managing Director of LAUDA France on his retirement
The long-standing head and Managing Director of LAUDA France S.A.R.L., Eric Couche, is the first overseas employee of LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG to be awarded the Dr. Rudolf Wobser Medal for his outstanding performance during his 17 years of service at LAUDA. Eric Couche has managed the foreign subsidiary since it was founded on March 1, 2005, and will retire at the start of next year. To present the Dr. Rudolf Wobser Medal and say farewell to the longstanding colleague in the festive setting of the Château Mont Royal in Chantilly, near Paris, the President & CEO Dr. Gunther Wobser traveled to France for the occasion, together with his wife and the Managing Director for international sales, Dr. Ralf Hermann. The entire team at LAUDA France took part in the celebratory evening.
LAUDA France was founded on March 1, 2005, in Neuilly-sur-Seine – starting with Sales Director Eric Couche as its only employee and an annual turnover of 1.5 million euros. LAUDA France was not only the first subsidiary outside Germany; Eric Couche was also the first overseas LAUDA employee. “I am very thankful for Eric Couche’s contribution and his exceptional work in building up our first foreign subsidiary. The development of LAUDA France has been positively shaped by his reliability and enterprise,” remarked Dr. Gunther Wobser, during his address. Today, the company of ten employees serves key customers in sectors such as pharma or automotive, and expects to generate almost five million euros in revenue in 2023. “That is an amazing achievement,” said the President & CEO in recognition. Maxime Sabre, who has worked for LAUDA France for more than ten years, will succeed Eric Couche as Managing Director of the subsidiary. “Eric Couche and the team at LAUDA France have made a huge contribution to LAUDA's success. I wish him all the best.”
The Dr. Rudolf Wobser Medal, which is made of real gold, was created for the occasion of the 60th company anniversary in 2016 and is awarded to individuals who have made an extraordinary contribution to the family company. Eric Couche is the first overseas employee to be honored with the medal.
Award ceremony in Italy: Dino Delbue, Sales Manager at DELO, Dr. Gunther Wobser, President & CEO of LAUDA, Dr. Claudio Baldi, Founder and CEO of DELO, and Antonio Manconi, Managing Director of LAUDA Italia (left to right) Photo: LAUDA
Italian agency DELO receives LAUDA Award
LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG has awarded the LAUDA Award for exceptionally successful new agencies to the Italian technology service provider DELO Instruments S.R.L. The award was presented at the DELO headquarters in Fizzonasco, south of Milan, on October 28. President & CEO of LAUDA, Dr. Gunther Wobser, personally handed over the award to Claudio Baldi, Founder and CEO of DELO Instruments.
“In the last four years, the collaboration between LAUDA and DELO has developed beautifully in the area of battery testing for the northern Italian automotive sector,” explains Antonio Manconi, Managing Director of LAUDA Italia, who is responsible for the direct collaboration with the Italian partner. “By marketing LAUDA constant temperature equipment to reputable manufacturers of vehicles and components in Italy, DELO has been able to achieve outstanding results. Our goal is to further expand the business and to support customers in the automotive industry with optimal temperature control solutions for complex test scenarios.”
“With LAUDA Italia S.R.L. and Managing Director Antonio Manconi ,we have built up a strong organization in Italy that has quadrupled our market share to around 40 percent, since it was first founded in 2014,” adds Dr. Gunther Wobser. “DELO Instruments has been a reliable partner at our side since 2018. Thanks to the support of our international agencies, electric mobility is one of LAUDA’s fastest-growing areas of business activity. That’s why we would like to thank our new agency, DELO, for a fantastic year in 2021 with this award.”
Image: The newly built production site in Terrassa, Spain.
Celebratory inauguration of the new production site in Terrassa, Spain
The Spanish subsidiary of LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG, LAUDA Ultracool, SL, has officially inaugurated its new production site with a celebratory ceremony in Terrassa, near Barcelona. In doing so, the temperature control specialist has successfully completed its first construction project abroad – and its first greenfield construction of an entire production facility. The family company has invested around seven million euros in the new-build in Spain, and created around 4,000 m² of new production areas and almost 1,000 m² of office space on the 9,000 m² site. As a result, the Spanish subsidiary has doubled its production capacities for LAUDA Ultracool circulation chillers, to meet growing demand worldwide for energy-efficient industrial cooling. The expansion of Spanish subsidiary is strategically aligned with the ambitious Drive250 strategy project, with which the world market leader aims to more than double its revenue within five years.
Along with the workforce and the Managing Director of LAUDA Ultracool, Xavier Armengol, the festivities were attended by high-ranking representatives from Germany, including President & CEO Dr. Gunther Wobser and his father Gerhard Wobser, as well as Managing Directors Dr. Marc Stricker and Dr. Mario Englert. Regional representatives including the Mayor of Terrassa Jordi Ballart and Deputy Mayor Núria Marin, and Patrick Heinz, the Deputy Consul General of the German Consulate General in Barcelona, also took part in the event. In their speeches, Ramon Talàmas, President of the Terrassa Chamber of Commerce, and Joan Romero, Representative of the Catalonian Government and CEO of ACCIO, an organization to ensure the competitiveness of Catalonian businesses, as well as Antoni Abad, President of the CECOT Entrepreneurs’ Association, praised the contribution and commitment of the world market leader LAUDA to the burgeoning economic region of Catalonia.
“In recent years, LAUDA Ultracool has grown steadily and successfully positioned itself on the market with modern, energy-efficient circulation chillers,” said Dr. Marc Stricker, summarizing the developments of the last few years. “The new build will create urgently needed capacities for our biggest overseas subsidiary, both in production and for the further expansion of the product line. Accordingly, this important investment is perfectly in line with our Drive250 growth strategy.”
“Like in 2011, when we acquired the Spanish subsidiary, we are showing courage and investing during difficult times,” remarked Dr. Gunther Wobser during his festive speech. “That’s why it is all the more important that we as a company send a visible signal of confidence and determination. By doing so, we can write our success story together.”
Image: The Managing Directors of Beun de Ronde, Corné Reuvers and Mike Klinkenberg, with Dr. Gerhard Wobser and the President & CEO of LAUDA, Dr. Gunther Wobser (from left to right)
First LAUDA agency Beun de Ronde is awarded the Dr. Rudolf Wobser Medal
The Dutch laboratory dealer Beun de Ronde B.V., a provider of scientific equipment with an impressive history going back 100 years, has been one of LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG.’s most reliable partners for decades. Since 1958, the two family companies have worked together without . Beun de Ronde was LAUDA’s first agency abroad, meaning it has been at the world market leader’s side almost from the very beginning. After the death of the two company founders Beun and de Ronde, their long-standing, trusted colleague Joop Klinkenberg took over the shares and the company management, which he later passed down to his son Mike. To honor this extraordinary and close partnership, the current Managing Director Mike Klinkenberg has been awarded the Dr. Rudolf Wobser Medal. At a celebratory dinner at the company headquarters near Amsterdam, the President & CEO of LAUDA, Dr. Gunther Wobser, presented the award in the presence of his father, Advisor and Shareholder, Dr. Gerhard Wobser, and the Managing Director of Beun de Ronde, Corné Reuvers.
Dr. Gunther Wobser handed over the medal in person. This time, the occasion was a first: “The relationship between LAUDA and Beun de Ronde is a very special one, because it was the first agency that LAUDA signed a contract with on August 15th, 1958. The collaboration goes back even further, as company founder Dr. Rudolf Wobser knew Jan de Ronde from his previous work. Especially in the early days of our company, Beun de Ronde played a significant role in our success, for which I would like to thank him on behalf of everyone involved. To this day, our partnership is the foundation of our shared economic success and can undoubtedly be regarded as a shining example of an international, neighborly collaboration between two family companies.”
The Dr. Rudolf Wobser Medal, which is made of real gold, was created for the occasion of the 60th company anniversary in 2016 and is awarded to individuals who have made an extraordinary contribution to the family company. For example, employees who have belonged to the company for over 50 years are honored with the award. In total, 16 Dr. Rudolf Wobser Medals have been awarded. Mike Klinkenberg will be the first person outside the company and outside Germany to receive this distinguished accolade.
LAUDA executives at the World Jour Fixe 2022
International LAUDA management team strengthens teamwork at strategic meeting
2022 – For the first time since 2019, the managing directors of the twelve overseas subsidiaries got together with the senior management of LAUDA DR. R. WOBSER GMBH & CO. KG for the World Jour Fixe at the company headquarters in Lauda-Königshofen. In the previous two years, the strategic meeting of all the senior managers had to take place online due to the pandemic.
LAUDA's international management team traditionally meets twice a year, to discuss directive projects, goals and plans of the limited partnership and all its subsidiaries. In intensive workshops and training sessions, the participants develop strategic goals, evaluate milestones and create synergies for the world market leader's global business. Alongside an extensive development analysis of the individual business fields and the upcoming annual plan for 2023, the comprehensive strategy project Drive250 was at the top of the agenda. Under this title, the family company has set itself ambitious growth targets. For example, the number of LAUDA employees is set to double worldwide, from 530 at present to over 1,000 by 2026. The company also wants to increase its turnover from the current level of around 100 million euro to 250 million euro in the five-year period under consideration.
“Direct, in-person discussion with each other is an important factor in LAUDA’s company culture,” explains President and CEODr. Gunther Wobser, emphasizing: “We are in an important phase of our strategic realignment, which is made more difficult by the current geopolitical developments. That’s why now, more than ever, all international forces need to work together to carry forward our shared vision of making the world a better place with precise temperatures.”
After an intensive three days, the organizers and 29 participants were left with a positive overall impression of the event. On top of the strategic work, there was no shortage of collegial interaction between the participants, including a traditional visit to the Königshöfer fair and a cycling trip to the neighboring town of Bad Mergentheim with a mini golf tournament.
