INSIGHT GAUSELMANN GROUP
Play Maker
Paul Gauselmann Company Chairman, Paul Gauselmann,
celebrated his 88th birthday on August 26. G3 takes stock of his extraordinary life and career.
Paul Gauselmann arrived in Espelkamp 66 years ago on December 1, and has been an independent entrepreneur ever since. G3 looks back on a unique legacy
Paul Gauselmann doesn’t believe in luck. He believes in opportunities that are waiting to be recognised, assessed and seized. Something he has accomplished throughout his life. Te creation of almost 15,000 jobs and an internationally recognised corporate group with total annual sales revenues of over €3.5bn are standouts from unique life’s work that the founder and Gauselmann Group Chairman continues to hone.
On 26 August, Paul Gauselmann celebrated his 88th birthday and at the same time looks back on 65 years of entrepreneurial independence – a decision he took on 25 May 1957. Born in 1934 near Münster (Westphalia), Paul Gauselmann’s story began with an apprenticeship as a telecommunications inspector.
After seven years as an employee, he ventured into part-time self-employment in 1957 installing jukeboxes. Tis marked the birth of the Gauselmann Group and culminated in 1964 in full business independence.
Te years spent as an employee would shape the entrepreneur for the rest of his life. He worked for eight years as a development technician in the vending machine industry, for four of them as head of development. In this function, he had constant insight into the areas of manufacturing and sales. He received great support from his senior boss, Wilhelm Harting, for whom vending machines were a true affair of the heart until his premature death in 1962. Tis time had shown Paul Gauselmann that the most
Paul Gauselmann’s life’s work is representative of a post-war Germany with new business opportunities that made such advancements possible and contributed to the growth of social prosperity. The
prerequisites were ideas, drive and staying power. Qualities
that became apparent with the founding of the first Spielothek in 1974.
important resource for any company are its employees and that their satisfaction depends to a large extent on showing appreciation. It’s not unusual to find him in the office corridors taking the time for an interested chat with an employee, personally attending the annual meeting of the Merkur Seniors or entering into dialogue with trainees and apprentices at the traditional entrepreneurial talk.
Paul Gauselmann’s life’s work is representative of a post-war Germany with new business opportunities that made such advancements possible and contributed to the growth of social prosperity. Te prerequisites were ideas, drive and staying power. Qualities that became apparent with the founding of the first Spielothek in 1974.
“I had the idea to turn the few box rooms of the former gambling hall into a gaming venue in the style of a three- or four-star hotel – with carpeting and hydroculture. A super idea as it turned out, and one that the whole industry jumped at,” says the company patriarch.
Just three years later, he marked the next milestone in the German market with his first proprietary slot machine, in those days without electronics. Te “Merkur B” doubled player enjoyment and the cash results of the machines of the market leaders at the time. Te company achieved market leadership in 1985 with a market share in excess of 50 per cent and has been able to defend it to this day because, in addition to focusing on gamers’ needs, it has always responded promptly to technical innovations and the changing political framework.
Many development departments from Australia to the US with a total of around 1,000 employees are proof that ideas continue to be the basis of success. In this, the group is very much in the tradition of its founder, who in his lifetime has registered some 300 patents and whose inventive spirit and entrepreneurial foresight have stood out time and again.
Tis drive and dedication still characterise Paul Gauselmann to this day – even though he has now prescribed himself a reduced four-day week. Relying on a long-standing and experienced management team, he has both advanced the group’s internationalisation and continuously expanded activities in the casino segment.
P38 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
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