WITRON founder Walter Winkler celebrates his 80th birthday

"From the very beginning, my principle was that my company is not interchangeable on the market," is one of Winkler's guiding principles. The man from the Upper Palatinate has continuously expanded his company since it was founded 46 years ago: From control system supplier, to software forge, to planner and general contractor with overall responsibility for logistics projects. Later, the design and manufacture of mechanical elements was added. WITRON has developed into one of the leading intralogistics "full service" providers with system solutions that are always developed to meet specific market requirements. In recent years, innovative aftersales concepts ranging from helpdesk services to the complete operation of logistics centers have ensured enormous growth.

"WITRON is my life," says the son of a craftsman, who graduated with a degree in electrical engineering at the age of 21 and has always remained true to his roots despite the impressive development of his company. "Committed, down-to-earth, credible" are three of his most important qualities. "And you have to be obsessed to be successful," the restless 80-year-old is convinced. The company location in idyllic Parkstein in the northern Upper Palatinate, which has developed into one of the leading regions for logistics in Germany, not least thanks to WITRON, is the "power center" for him despite the global expansion.

According to the entrepreneur, who has a strong social commitment, he owes much of his success to the diligence and reliability of the people in his home region. As a committed training company ("1200 young people have been trained by us for the region since the company was founded") and a reliable employer with generous social benefits such as the "WITRON pension", Winkler wants to give a lot back to his home region. Many years ago, Winkler used a foundation model to regulate the company's succession and thus protect his life's work from being sold or taken over: "I see the company as a kind of social institution that cannot be inherited. The company belongs to the employees."

Planning three projects at the same time is still part of Walter Winkler's daily routine. The "structured logician", as he describes himself, plans customers' complex logistics centers thanks to a photographic memory in his head - "without a computer or secretary", smiles the WITRON boss. New projects in Europe and North America are currently on the agenda. "Only the fast ones will always be the successful ones," is another Winkler principle that characterizes his work. The passionate hiker and skier is also still in the thick of things at press conferences and customer events. "The work is my hobby and gives me a lot of pleasure," says Winkler. Certainly far beyond his 80th birthday.

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