Insight GAUSELMANN GROUP
From part-time operator to global gaming legend, Paul Gauselmann celebrates his 80th birthday atop a family business that has inspirationally built an empire around one man’s vision
Courage, innovative spirit, hard work and a wealth of ideas – these are the cornerstones that describe the lifework of Paul Gauselmann. The company founder and chairman of the eastern Westphalian Gauselmann Group turned 80 on August 26, 2014. The decision to develop games and machines himself as well as to produce them alongside the invention of modern gaming arcades are just two of the major milestones that the entrepreneur can look back upon. In particular the sheer joy of playing – regardless in which form – has always been his focus.
Paul Gauselmann made the transition from part- time businessman to the founder and owner of one of the leading games and gaming machine companies in the world with a turnover of almost two billion euros and over 8,000 employees in just 50 years. Born in 1934 near to Münster (Westphalia), his professional career began with the apprenticeship as telecommunications inspector. A few years later he began to operate juke boxes in his spare time. This was followed by the move to complete self-employment in 1964. The entrepreneur opened his first gaming arcade in 1974 and thus the first modern gaming arcade in Germany. Only three years later he introduced his first self-developed and entirely innovative gaming machine called the ‘Merkur B’ to the market and so captured more than 50 percent share of the German AWP market from 1984 onwards. ‘Merkur B’ was also a synonym for the relentless rise of the Gauselmann Group and the precursor for the Merkur brand name. “Step by step I gained the fundamental knowledge and perseverance to enter the German AWP market through my training at ‘Telefonbau und Normalzeit’ and in the activities that followed. The thorough wealth of experience I gained in my youth before, during and after the Second World War to create something out of little or indeed out of nothing has been a major contributing factor for the later entrepreneurial success of the Gauselmann Group”, so explains the entrepreneur the company’s rapid growth.
The Gauselmann Group is today the industry leader in Germany and a mainstay in international gaming markets. Paul Gauselmann managed the transition from part-time
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GAMING ICON CELEBRATES 80TH
businessman to complete self-employment in only seven years. Thus, the business developed from a one-man company to one of the most important gaming machine manufacturers and arcade operators in the world. The purchase of the well-known British arcade chain Praesepe in 2012 with 170 locations marked the biggest acquisition in company history.
Alongside his own company success, Paul Gauselmann has always focused on the well- being of the entire gaming machine industry. He has decisively shaped the industry politics in associations since the 1960s – in particular taking the special political working conditions in Germany into consideration. In this way Paul Gauselmann has stood at the head of the German AWP Industry Association (VDAI) for 33 years. “Only when the industry is doing well can I take my fair share” is his philosophy. A further statement of his dedication to the gaming machine industry has been the creation of both industry-specific IHK apprenticeships ‘Coin-Op Service Technician’ and ‘Coin-Op Specialist’. An important milestone for further training and education within the Gauselmann Group in the past years has been the purchase and renovation of the 500 year-old castle Schloss Benkhausen to become a centre for training and courses. This was completed in 2013.
As chairman of a globally active company with local roots, Paul Gauselmann embodies entrepreneurial responsibility and portrays social, cultural and sports commitment at the same time – mainly in the region of Lübbecke and beyond. Thus, the entrepreneur supports inter alia the tennis club Espelkamp-Mittwald e.V. (TVE) where he himself became German Champion in the age class 65 in 2010 as well as
the handball premier division TuS N-Lübbecke team. The Gauselmann family takes its social duties seriously as well. For example, Paul Gauselmann is active as long-term chairman of the charity ‘“Schlaganfall” – Neurologische Klinik Minden e.V. Förderverein’ (Charitable Trust for the Minden Stroke – Neurological Clinic). Furthermore, Paul Gauselmann set up the ‘Gauselmann Foundation’ on his 65th birthday which today has a nominal capital of EUR 5 million and whose proceeds are aimed at supporting social and cultural projects in the region.
Paul Gauselmann was decorated with the German Federal Cross of Merit in 1993 for his outstanding social commitment as well as for his service within the German AWP industry. A decade later this was increased to the even more prestigious First Class of the German Federal Cross of Merit. Furthermore, on his 70th birthday in 2004, the towns of both Espelkamp and Lübbecke bestowed him the dignity of honorary citizenship for his untiring service to the region.
A strong family backs up the successful businessman. Thus, Paul Gauselmann could always count on the support from his wife Karin and his four sons and in the meantime nine grandchildren for which he is very thankful. “Whether in the management board, supervisory board or as part of the foundation – my family has always been a great support to me in my private and business life. My sons have made major contributions to today’s company success at the Gauselmann Group. My particular thanks goes to my wife Karin who has advised, supported and motivated me in every situation for the past 47 years”, concludes the entrepreneur.
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