„Courage to innovate leads to economic success“

Leading SMEs in their sectors, such as the automation specialist Murrelektronik, form the backbone of the German economy. During a visit to the company, Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Economic Affairs Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut found out about the latest trends in the field of electric automation technology – and was impressed by the company's very own ideas that are currently globally creating a furor once again.

What began almost 50 years ago from an ingenious idea to a product that is still successful today has developed into a globally successful, widely spread network of more than 3,000 experts in more than 50 countries and one of the leading providers in the field of automation: The history of Murrelektronik is an exciting success story – and the company is working hard to add more interesting chapters to this story.

Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Economic Affairs, Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, recently saw this for herself when she visited the company together with Dr. Richard Sigel, District Administrator of the Rems-Murr district. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Viethen (CEO), Jürgen Erkert (CFO) and Gaby Linnow (CSO) focused their attention on the latest developments such as the revolutionary “Vario-X” cabinet-free automation system, with which the company is once again successfully breaking new ground and causing a sensation, or the digital platform “uKonn-X”, which makes the electrical installation of a machine child's play. Such forward-looking concepts are very much to the Minister's taste: “The example of Murrelektronik shows that entrepreneurial foresight and the courage to innovate lead to economic success.”

“Vario-X” is also economical for users: they have 30 percent less work for the electrical installation thanks to the plug & play principle with pre-assembled plugs. The Minister followed Ulrich Viethen's explanations with interest, repeatedly asking questions and signaling her approval with appreciative nods. It is precisely this entrepreneurial spirit that Baden-Württemberg needs. However, this entrepreneurial spirit also requires freedom. Dr. Hoffmeister-Kraut went on to say that politicians must create this freedom: “We must (...) improve the supply conditions so that companies (...) invest more in the location again, so that innovations can emerge and succeed.” The trio at the head of the company were pleased to hear these words:

“Globally successful companies like Murrelektronik need political framework conditions that do not put us at a disadvantage in global competition. We therefore welcome the Minister's calls to reduce the burden on the state's economy, for example by cutting unnecessary bureaucracy.”