Raising a glass with Dr. Gerd Bergmann and Ulrich Cramer
111 years of successful company history, and time for a toast! With 2015 Chateau Smith Haut Lafite Blanc in Gerd Bergmann’s glass and 2018 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes in Ulrich Cramer’s, we talked about Nordmann, the people who make Nordmann special and the company’s future.
Dr. Gerd Bergmann, Chief Executive Officer
Nordmann, Rassmann GmbH
Gerd, you’ve been with Nordmann since 2009 and in 2013 you became a member of the managing board. Can you describe Nordmann in just a few sentences?
Passion for chemical distribution, first and foremost! I am a chemist through and through, and I’m fascinated by the opportunities that modern chemistry offers. This passion, our value-based company culture and the know-how of our employees is what makes Nordmann special. Companies don’t just automatically have 111 years of success – it takes top-notch entrepreneurship. Not just in management either, but at all levels. At Nordmann, we’ve managed to overcome crisis situations (most recently the pandemic and the consequences surrounding that) and we owe that success to the commitment of our colleagues all over the world – to our staff being willing to go the extra mile for the company, our suppliers and our customers. Our slogan is not “Knowledge in action” for nothing; behind it lies experience, competence and being committed to providing quality service.
OK, that was more than just a few sentences!
Ulrich, you’re “the new guy” on the Nordmann management team. What thoughts and impressions do you have now after six months?
I see Nordmann as the perfect mix of a family-owned company and a very successful multinational group – with “Hamburg DNA” and a long-term approach. I’ve been lucky enough to already have visited several of our entities around the world, which has proven to me how truly global Nordmann is as a company. Thankfully though, its size still lets me be very hands-on and contribute a lot as a managing director. In addition to the passion that Gerd has already mentioned, I’ve been impressed by the team spirit of the Nordmann colleagues – something I’ve seen lived out across all departments, nations and job levels. What fascinates me most is that despite its size, the company has maintained a very authentic and personal approach to its staff and its business partners. This sort of corporate culture is the recipe for success, and with Nordmann you can already see it from the outside – but it becomes even more obvious as soon as you’re part of the team.
Ulrich Cramer, Chief Finance Officer
Nordmann, Rassmann GmbH
Where do you think Nordmann will be in another 111 years?
Gerd: Predicting the future that far ahead is extremely speculative and doesn’t suit my scientific nature at all! That said, I’m firmly convinced that chemistry offers solutions to the great challenges of our time – from nutrition and health to mobility, energy and climate change – and that it will continue to do so. Despite all the efforts to blame chemicals, our work keeps the world turning and makes it a better place – not a worse one.
Ulrich: I couldn’t agree more! And although automation and AI are sure to have a huge impact on the way we work together, I am firmly convinced that the expertise and creativity of our employees – including their product knowledge and their understanding of raw materials and how they can best be applied – are irreplaceable and will continue to be in the future.
Gerd: Let’s look 11 years into the future instead. By then we may have a Nordmann location on every continent and may have also doubled our turnover. We have ambitious growth targets and will continue to pursue them by leveraging all our efforts and passion.
Ulrich: My vision for 2034 is that we will again have significantly increased intercompany cooperation between our global teams. The MoVE project for a completely new, fully integrated and globally rolled-out ERP, CRM and BI system is currently a big challenge but will of course have long been completed in 11 years’ time. With the new system in place fed by accurate and consistent data, we’ll have the prerequisites needed to benefit from AI technology. By that, I mean automated logistics processes ranging from the delivery and storage of goods to selection and shipping – or, for example, AI-supported forecasting and planning. These technologies need to find their way into our day-to-day business practices so they can provide us with more time to support our business partners.
Gerd, is there a future-related topic that is particularly close to your heart?
There is, yes! We have outlined the framework for the future development of Nordmann in our VIPS (Visible, International, Profitable, Sustainable) strategy, and the aspect of sustainability is particularly important to me. I believe that our generation is responsible for respecting, protecting and developing the world’s natural, social and business resources for the coming one – and that taking this approach will enable us to optimally serve our customers, suppliers and business partners.
Ulrich, what advice would you give a new Nordmann employee?
To approach tasks with a willingness to collaborate, learn and improve. Bring in your existing skills and experience and be open to new challenges while continuing to develop your skills – that’s what will make you a good fit for Nordmann. At Nordmann, we foster a culture of learning and growth by offering our staff ongoing training, and we empower our people to take responsibility. I’m strongly convinced that we are small enough to focus on each employee as an individual, but also large enough to provide really interesting and challenging global career opportunities.
Gerd, what don’t we know about you yet?
It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but I have to confess that I have a hobby of collecting hotel room numbers! It started back in 2015 when another colleague at Nordmann told me about his even crazier hobby of collecting pictures of the faucets in all the hotel rooms he stays in. When I heard that, I decided that I needed a collection, too – so I started to note down the numbers of all the rooms I stayed in, as well as the dates, locations and lengths of each stay. Since I have to travel a lot for business and am also keen on exploring other places and cultures in my private life, this inevitably results in a good number of hotel stays every year. I really think it’s a brilliant hobby! It doesn’t cost a thing and when people ask me questions like “What was the name of that little city in Cameroon?”, “When did we travel to Japan?” or “That lovely hotel in Southern France, what was it called?” – I actually have answers! I’ve stayed most often in Room 16 (seven times) and have discovered that Room 13 seems to exist nowhere in the world. The lowest room number I’ve ever had is 1 and the highest is 15001 (at a twin-tower, large chain hotel in the USA).
Since they don’t exist yet, I don’t participate in swap meets for hotel room numbers, but who knows? Maybe one fine day I’ll found the IAHRNC (“International Association of Hotel Room Number Collectors”) and establish the first worldwide exchange trade platform for this valuable commodity!
Ulrich, how do you balance work and family life?
Well, balance is truly key! After a busy week or an exhausting business trip, I always look forward to coming back home and spending time with my family over the weekend – with my wife, our kids and our grandchildren. Spending time with the youngest members of the family or going on two-hour walks with our two dogs through the forest and fields really brings me back down to earth. It recharges my batteries and gives me the balance I need in order to put all my energy into Nordmann again when Monday comes around.
From the first days in Serbia
