Visions for the future

Claudia Thiemer, the Financial Director at Deutsche Werkstätten, insists that it is not her job to have visions for the future. Instead, she keeps a watchful eye on the figures and pulls the break when necessary. This is not an easy role for Claudia, who explains that the owner Fritz Straub is never short of ideas and always looking to the future. Of course, she admires him for his positive outlook but admits that whereas he will always consider the glass to be ‘half full` she has her mind on the budget and will see it as ‘half empty’. When she hears “We can’t afford to stand still!” her answer will tend to be “Let’s see what is possible.”

She admits there have been difficult times when she has feared the worst, but time and again Deutsche Werkstätten has emerged unscathed and stronger than before. “It is quite remarkable how at times of crisis we have invariably taken a turn in the right direction, as if our founder Karl Schmidt were keeping a watchful eye on us …”

Editorial note: This article was published in 2020.

"It is quite remarkable how at times of crisis we have invariably taken a turn in the right direction, as if our founder Karl Schmidt were keeping a watchful eye on us …"

Claudia Thiemer