Generation change to continue shaping the future!

Mr. Josef Winkels took over the management in January 2018. During this time he has achieved a lot and had to overcome some hurdles. He quickly led the company into calmer waters and encouraged both the banks and the Wölfer family to give money to the traditional company with its branded product, the “Wölfer Motor”, in order to enable the employees to continue to have a future. "Because of its high quality, the Wölfer motor from Osnabrück is a product valued all over the world," said Josef Winkels at the time.

During this time there was a lot of organizational restructuring; the machine park was completed and departments partially restructured. The previously outsourced purchasing was completely rebuilt and the leeway that had been lost was regained. Now new procurement channels could be launched in order to no longer be dependent on individual suppliers. Old target groups and collaborations with former trading partners should also be reactivated in order to generate broader sales opportunities. It went off well. But the chosen path was again imponderable due to a critical major project and so Mr. Winkels had to put the business into insolvency in early 2019 in consultation with the family.  However, by acting in good time and cooperating with the creditors, the company was able to carry out this in self-administration and ultimately successfully complete it in just six months. In September 2019, the resumption of business as an independent company was officially declared. During that time, a traditional, family-run company from the field of electric motor construction was won over as a suitable investor. The Franz Wölfer company has now become part of the Menzel Group, but can and should continue to act independently. Thus the trust of the customers in the efficiency and the high-quality electric motors from Osnabrück could be regained. The course has been set for further growth.

At the end of the year, the baton will now be passed to someone from the technical area. Ralf Müller is a trained industrial mechanic and subsequently studied mechanical engineering. The many years of experience, knowledge and skills in electric motor construction that he brings to the company are enormously valuable for further development.

The company would like to thank Mr. Winkels for his commitment, for his goal-oriented steering through a turbulent phase of the company and is confident that with him as an advisor and Mr. Müller as an expert managing director, the company will continue to move successfully into the future.