From a garage in Hesse to the world market

“Forty years are half a lifetime,” noted the managing directors of Braun Aufzüge, Tobias Braun and Pamela Schmidt on this occasion.

At the beginning of September, the lift company near to Kassel celebrated its fortieth anniversary. Braun Aufzüge GmbH & Co. KG was established by their father Heinz Braun in Zierenberg in1986.

Before he set up his own business, Heinz Braun worked at the lift companies Zeiser and Thyssen in Frankfurt and in Kassel as assembly manager and branch director. His wife Jutta assumed the commercial management a few months later. The company started in the garage: the warehouse was in a double garage while the controller production took place in the basement of the house. Two employees were hired in the first year for service.

Photo: © Nina Skripietz/Braun Aufzüge

During the development phase, the company initially faced economic difficulties due to customers paying late or not at all. But then things got even worse: while working on a lift, Heinz Braun suffered an electric shock. He only survived by a miracle. Following German reunification, Heinz Braun experienced another setback: after initial business successes in East Germany, the company withdrew from this market after repeated conflicts with project participants.

FIRST OWN PRODUCTION SITE

In 1990, the company established its first own production site in Zierenberg. In 1997, Tobias Braun, the son of the founder, joined the company while still studying mechanical engineering. “Since I was young, I’d had a clear plan to promote and enlarge the company,” he recalled. Joachim Schmidt, a friend of Tobias Braun from university, joined the company in 2001. The company had built its first lift without a machine room a year before.

Jutta Braun and Heinz Braun (right) with employee Matthias Rabanus Photo: © Nina Skripietz/Braun Aufzüge

Heinz Braun withdrew from the operational business in 2004. Pamela Braun, today Schmidt, daughter of the founder, joined the management. “Fortunately, my sister and my brother-in-law in particular decided to pitch in and did all they could to support the company,” Tobias Braun emphasised. “Cooperation is the basis of successful work and creates trust,” added Pamela Schmidt.

NEW COMPANY STRUCTURES

The current company structures were created in the same year: Braun Aufzüge for new construction, modernisation and maintenance for building owners and operators (B2C) and the affiliate Braun Aufzugtechnik for the production of components and lifts for domestic and foreign lift companies (B2B).

During the subsequent period, the company received several major orders. The first laser cutting machine was acquired in 2009, a new administration building erected in 2016 and a new production building in 2020. “We’re particularly proud of the construction of a modern lift production facility in the centre of Germany,” the managing directors emphasised.

The sheet metal production was completely replaced in 2021 as part of the new production building by a modern machinery park for the processing of maxi-format metal sheets, consisting of a laser cutting plant with sheet metal tower, including fully automated loading/-unloading and high precision press brake.

The two siblings did not accomplish all this on their own. They took advantage of the celebration to thank their 85 employees, who had distinguished themselves through “advanced qualifications, longstanding experience, team spirit and loyalty towards us as management.”

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

And what comes next? “We plan the further expansion of the design and production of lifts and components for other domestic and foreign lift companies to ensure our high-quality products are used in as many lifts as possible,” explained the siblings at the anniversary. Moreover, the establishment of independent service branches with regional sectors was planned in all German metropolitan regions. The first branch was to open as soon as 1 January 2027.

After the celebration with about 160 employees, both managing directors were full of sincere gratitude. “The many guests, heartfelt congratulations, valuable discussions and wonderful atmosphere impressed us enormously.”

More informations: braun-aufzuege.de
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