Podcast „Alles neu...? Aus dem Maschinenraum“

After six years, a new Thermomix is now hitting the market. Behind the well-known kitchen appliance is the Wuppertal-based family business Vorwerk. The company is owned by the Mittelsten Scheid family, generated over three billion euros in revenue in 2023, and employed more than 100,000 independent sales representatives worldwide by the end of 2024.

The interview for the podcast "Alles neu...? Aus dem Maschinenraum" was given by Vorwerk Spokesperson of the Executive Board Dr. Thomas Stoffmehl before the announcement of the new Thermomix – and he did not reveal anything. In the podcast, Stoffmehl talks about Vorwerk's two most important products, the Thermomix and the Kobold vacuum cleaner, direct sales as the company's driving force, the failure of the Temial tea machine – and he sharply criticizes the political framework in Germany.

"I see Germany's economic position in free fall," says the Vorwerk Spokesperson of the Executive Board. He hopes that a stable government can provide solutions. "Entrepreneurship is not embedded in our DNA," Stoffmehl states. Furthermore, while everyone talks about reducing bureaucracy, it does not actually happen. The infrastructure is in urgent need of renovation, and energy policy is "a total failure." "With these energy prices, we are catapulting ourselves out of the market."

For Vorwerk, Stoffmehl emphasizes the role of the salespeople. "The only important metric for us is the number of our consultants worldwide," he says. "If we do not manage to grow this community, we cannot achieve growth." In the podcast, the Spokesperson of the Executive Board speaks of a "culture of competition" among the sales force. "It is an inherent part of our DNA and our business," says Stoffmehl – in the podcast "Alles neu...? Aus dem Maschinenraum" with Tobias Rappers, Managing Director of Maschinenraum, and Capital editor Katja Michel.

How can the origin and future of Mittelstand companies be courageously united? What are the challenges facing family businesses and what experiences do they gather in digital transformation? These questions are answered by “Alles neu...? Aus dem Maschinenraum“, the interview podcast for German Mittelstand*. Once a month, Tobias Rappers, Managing Director of Maschinenraum, and Nils Kreimeier, Senior Editor of the business magazine Capital, talk to thought leaders and makers from the heart of the German economy and focus on the personalities and their motivation. *The podcast is in German.

For more episodes of “Alles neu...? Aus dem Maschinenraum“ please click here!