ms NEUMANN ELEKTRONIK GMBH

ms NEUMANN ELEKTRONIK GMBH
ms Neumann Elektronik Stands For High Security
“There isn’t anybody in Germany that’s fit to hold a
candle to us” – this clear statement made by
managing director Mr Jörg Michhöfer
demonstrates the German company’s new-found
self-esteem. It also goes to show that a lot has
happened in the last few years at Mainstrasse,
where Neumann’s headquarters are located.
“Steering away from selling hardware and leading
towards developing and distributing innovative and
state-of-the-art solutions” – this has been one of
the company’s main recipes for success.
For decades, Neumann Elektronik had been
focusing on selling and servicing emergency pillars
next to motorways, in railway stations and airports,
both in Germany and abroad. Another focus had
been setting up and organizing safety
headquarters for the German Railway as well as
developing and distributing communication
solutions for various production plants. Now the
company is increasingly aiming for intelligent IP
solutions.
The objective is to transact the entire
communication within, say, industrial firms and
controlled traffic zones using self-sustaining
networks, starting from public address, emergency
call and video surveillance systems to alarm
systems for concerted evacuations. In this context,
extra high safety levels and redundancies are an
absolute must. Mr Michhöfer leaves no doubt: “As
a company specializing in intercom technology for
environments with high levels of background noise
as well as for explosion-hazardous areas, we will
certainly further increase our market share by
gaining new partners.”
A Commitment to Intelligent IP Solutions
Frank Konrad Jörg Michhöfer
Mr Michhöfer, who holds a degree in business
administration, often tells visitors of the puzzled
looks he sometimes gets from prospective clients
whenever Neumann systems are presented.
Although encouraged to try to crash a system,
clients invariably fail to do so. “We disconnect the
power plug, switch on the electricity – and seconds
later all intelligent units are back in full working
order”, says Michhöfer who runs Neumann
Electronics jointly with graduate engineer Frank
Konrad.
Wherever safety is a top priority, solutions
provided by Neumann Elektronik ensure perfect
communication. Neumann has three subsidiaries
in Belgium, Vienna and Moscow as well as a
branch office in Ludwigshafen.
Nowadays, all systems with a “single point of
failure” are history, meaning that intelligent
processing capability is no longer located in one
central processing unit. Instead, it is now contained
within the end devices themselves. So if a single
unit stops functioning, all other system
components continue to work smoothly.
Even oversees countries such as India, Malaysia,
China, Taiwan and the Phillipines as well as the
entire Arabic region are increasingly relying on
German and, more importantly, on Neumann
technology. “Our service technology enjoys a
phenomenal reputation worldwide”, says
Michhöfer, adding that “our success in Germany
will be our reference for our global activities.”
Zeitungsbericht Rainer Rehbein UVG_en.doc Seite1von2 www.neumann-elektronik.com
Rip. 07.04.2008

ms NEUMANN ELEKTRONIK GMBH
Neumann Elektronik has been among the leading
providers of high-quality voice communication
solutions worldwide for more than sixty years. It
provided IP communication systems for 147
commuter railway stations in Munich. Also, the
Vienna metro, which has been using Neumann
technology for thirty years, as well the metro
control center have been thoroughly modernized
by the newly positioned German company. Even in
the Moscow metro, the Neumann company logo,
reminiscent both of the waves on the river Ruhr
and electrical sound waves, can be found almost
everywhere – not to mention the Swiss Gotthard
tunnel and other Alpine tunnels.
Neumann’s integrated concept of communication
has established itself not only on the drilling
platforms off the North African coast but also on
the oil fields in the Lybian desert. As listing all
references would surely go beyond the scope of
this publication, here’s one last example that
clearly demonstrates the outstanding safety
standard of Neumann systems: High-quality
technology by Neumann Electronics is even used
in a Russian plant that destroys chemical weapons
from the cold war.
Today, the company has one hundred highly
qualified employees. Monthly customer-oriented
information sessions – where potential buyers can
test and even challenge systems in the manner
described above – are part of Neumann’s
marketing strategy. Naturally, a large number of
foreign sales partners from all over the world are
also involved. Neumann’s corporate philosophy
even includes cooperating with experienced
engineering firms. Although the company relies on
external help in some areas, of course it has a
development department of its own.
Neumann’s development department, in its turn,
achieves synergy by cooperating with the
Duisburg-Essen university. Not only does the
Neumann company regularly award diploma
theses to university graduates, it has also been
mentoring three university students in the course
of a cooperative training program, thus enabling
them to participate in new projects. To recruit
qualified new staff, company representatives even
directly contact candidates at the Duisburg
university’s Open Door day where Neumann
Elektronik are represented by an information desk
of their own.
The high priority given to professional training by
Neumann Electronics is reflected by the fact that
there are currently thirteen apprentices at the
company’s offices at Mainstrasse, who were
selected from a total of ninety applicants. The
thirteen chosen ones certainly seem to be aware
that a lot is expected from them, as Mr Michhöfer
can’t understand why a lot of companies complain
about their apprentices’ lack of formal education.
Says Michhöfer, “On the contrary, our apprentices’
average grades have clearly improved.” Although
such training efforts are obviously intended to
secure the company’s future, they’ve had another
very positive side effect: Neumann Elektronik was
elected “2007’s best apprenticing company” due to
its innovative, practice-oriented training concepts.
Rainer Rehbein UVG
Zeitungsbericht Rainer Rehbein UVG_en.doc Seite2von2 www.neumann-elektronik.com
Rip. 07.04.2008