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9<br />
0<strong>50</strong>.5878<br />
of risk, and, most importantly, plenty of<br />
understanding on the part of the family<br />
to get through the first few years. Fortunately<br />
their products soon became<br />
popular among specialists, allowing the<br />
product range to be continuously expanded.<br />
Leading market position<br />
in Switzerland,<br />
and foreign subsidiaries<br />
Less than 20 years passed before R&M<br />
made it to the top of the Swiss market<br />
for telephone connection and distribution<br />
systems. At first it was nearly<br />
always Renato De-Massari who was<br />
the public face to the customers. Over<br />
time, however, he gradually set up an<br />
extensive sales network.<br />
He was also in charge of setting up<br />
the first sales organizations in Germany,<br />
Italy, and Austria. De-Massari had a talent<br />
for quickly acquainting himself with<br />
local conditions and was much respected<br />
by business partners both at home<br />
and abroad, including Hans Reichle.<br />
At the end of the 1990s the two founders<br />
handed their operational duties<br />
over to the second generation owners:<br />
Martin and Peter Reichle were now<br />
the operational managers of R&M. The<br />
withdrawal of the company’s founders<br />
to the Board of Directors was a gradual<br />
process and one that had been planned<br />
for a long time. One year later, in 2000,<br />
Renato De-Massari sadly died at the<br />
unexpectedly early age of 66 after suffering<br />
a cardiac arrest.<br />
What was once a two-man business<br />
has long since grown into a flourishing<br />
group of companies – spurred on by<br />
the pioneering spirit of Hans Reichle<br />
and Renato De-Massari, the founders<br />
who always had the courage to take<br />
calculated risks and who were always<br />
prepared to embrace change and progress.<br />
n<br />
Setting foot abroad<br />
R&M founds its first subsidiary abroad: Reichle & De-Massari GmbH Deutschland.<br />
After starting operations, business continues to develop very positively. Plans are made<br />
to build a new warehouse covering an area of 1800 m 2 .<br />
Helmut Kohl becomes Chancellor of West Germany. The famous computer Commodore 64 is launched onto the market.
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