Interview with Christian H. Kienzle

Mr. Kienzle, for the few who do not know you: please introduce yourself.
How did you come to your current position?
ARGO-HYTOS is a family-owned company founded 70 years ago, which originated from the Kienzle Concern. In 1982, this concern was sold by my family to the MANNESMANN AG. The then relatively small ARGO GMBH for precision mechanics remained family-owned and produced as subcontractor mechanical subsystems for Mannesmann-Kienzle and self-developed magnetic and paper filters for mobile hydraulics. After my studies in business management and law and in a first position as assistant to the management, I joined the management of the ARGO GMBH in 1989. By focusing on the needs of our customers in the hydraulics world-wide, I have developed the company organically and through acquisitions continuously and purposefully into a globally successful company in hydraulics.

What is the fascination of fluid technology for you?
Technology has always fascinated me although I am not an engineer. Especially hydraulics impresses me: Fascinating mobile machines in a wide range of applications have always captivated enthusiastic people. An industry that is still world export champion, which occupies the technological leadership in the world and gives the very many people an interesting and well-paid work. Right now, it will be exciting when it comes to digitizing our hydraulic and pneumatic components and systems. In competition with other technologies there are many exciting fields of action to occupy!

You run a medium-sized company. How could politics simplify your task?
International politics should guarantee us the free movement of goods, Europe must grow and assume responsibility in the world, and national politics must be ready to give up sovereignty. Europe must show a strong backbone, must have a voice that can be heard clearly and unequivocally, and must converge even more closely in economic terms.
Nationally, I would wish that innovation should receive tax benefits before profits are taxed away.

What are the greatest future challenges for fluid technology?
The topic of digitization is a key issue for fluid technology. Here, all registers must be drawn to ensure the connectivity of components and systems. This is the only way to offer end-users the opportunity to develop new business models and create customer benefits through their systems and devices. Only through the application of already existing solutions in our industry, affordable customer benefit can be achieved. Our OEMs need to be more courageous and increasingly use the innovations in fluid technology.