Many Thanks for our Time Together

Dear Business Partners,

After more than 27 years at Hirschvogel, it is now time to bid farewell as I enter into the release phase of my retirement. These have been exciting and eventful years in which we have seen an incredible amount of change – some things for the better, some for the worse.

Let’s travel back in time a little: When I started in 1997, we had one e-mail address at Hirschvogel and the fax machines were still buzzing everywhere. The first cell phone went on sale in the early 2000s, and the Internet was still in its infancy. This shows how quickly and drastically society and the world of work has changed. Digitalization has made many things more effective and better. At the same time, it has brought with it an endless flood of data and 24/7 personal availability. The half-life of knowledge is now very short. You constantly have to throw old knowledge overboard and acquire new knowledge – this also applies to previous automotive mindsets.

My time at Hirschvogel also saw two veritable economic crises and a pandemic. Thanks to a prudent personnel and financial strategy, Hirschvogel always managed to emerge stronger from such crises. The company has developed enormously over the last 27 years, growing from a medium-sized German supplier with sales of just under 100 million euros to an international supplier with sales amounting to 1.5 billion euros.

One thing that has not changed over the years: People are social creatures – both in their private and professional lives. Repeated attempts to further suppress the interpersonal factor in B2B processes have thankfully not yet succeeded in most organizations. I have come to realize how important personal contact and the resulting mutual trust are. Looking back, I would say that those professional relationships based on longstanding personal interaction and trust have been the most successful for both parties. In some cases, they have even led to enriching friendships, for which I am very grateful.

I would like to thank all my business partners and colleagues who have accompanied me over the years and placed their trust in me. My special thanks also go, postmortem, to Dr. Manfred Hirschvogel, who placed his trust in me very early on and who I had the honor and pleasure of working with closely for over 13 years. He has remained a role model for me in many ways to this day.

Armin Ihle