Stabilus was the first company to produce gas springs, back in 1962. Since then, the company has become an industry leader in the global market, with plants as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, China, Korea, the US, Mexico, Brazil, Romania, and its home plant in Germany. Offering over 15,000 different products and variants to more than 2,600 customers worldwide, Stabilus is known for adding value to well-known brands like Volkswagen and BMW.
Dietmar Siemssen came on board as CEO of Stabilus in June 2011, having spent 19 years at Continental AG, and five years in Asia where he ran the joint venture from Continental and Nisshinbo and was responsible for the Asia business of the chassis and safety division. According to Dietmar, when he came to Stabilus the company was more focused on surviving the year than implementing a long-term growth strategy. But since then, Dietmar has worked hard to reverse that mentality, leading the company to record growth for the third year in a row. Here, he speaks to The CEO Magazine about his experiences.
The CEO Magazine: What were the major challenges you had to overcome to lead Stabilus to new heights?
Dietmar: First, we had to set up a clear strategy for the company, which we call STAR, derived from Stabilus Reloaded. The strategy has two purposes: first, to have a clear goal and direction for the company, a collective vision that everyone is aiming for. Its other purpose is to make sure that the teams are melded together to achieve that common target. We recognised that we had a lot of good people everywhere in the world, and they were working hard, but not in one direction.