MERKUR SPECIAL
Positively Merkurial
G M
ettle, innovative spirit, hard work and inventiveness – these are the cornerstones on which Paul Gauselmann’s life work is built. The decision to go into
developing and manufacturing games and coin- op machines and the invention of the modern arcade are just two of the milestones that the 83- year-old company founder and Chairman of the eastern Westphalian Gauselmann Group can look back on. One thing that has accompanied him in all his endeavours is his enthusiasm for games – regardless of the form they take.
In as little as 60 years, Paul Gauselmann’s
career has taken him from armchair entrepreneur to founder and proprietor of one of the world’s leading games and coin-op empires. Born near Münster (Westphalia) in 1934 as the son of a craftsman, Paul Gauselmann was called upon to demonstrate his assertiveness and talent for improvisation from an early age. His early years were
Casino International was recently invited to partake in Merkur’s 60th anniversary celebrations at their German headquarters. What we saw cemented this company’s reputation as giants in our industry.
auselmann’s 60th anniversary celebrations were simply astonishing, on a scale unseen in this industry – and in most others, I suspect. And they went on in a spirit of absolute generosity, with
three days of fun and frolics; we attended the first day, with the second for employees and their families, and the third for anybody that wanted to come and join in. Live music, outside bars, a fairground environment, and dinner for 2500 in a gigantic marquee is just scratching the surface of one incredible weekend.
Attendees were also lucky enough to hear Mr Gauselmann give a fascinating speech about his career before the evening’s entertainment began, and for most this was a real highlight. Hats off to the Gauselmann Group for not just the
vision to create such an event, but the genius to actually stage it. What an anniversary it was, celebrated in the right spirit – and with the right people.
With the same spirit, Casino International presents an eight-page special on the group and this very special event.
A portrait of Paul Gauselmann From part-time installation technician to global corporate leader
overshadowed by the Second World War and the period of post-war reconstruction. Nightly bombing raids on Münster, together with the constant danger and deprivation and the need to improvise, had a lasting effect. “In those days, with everything in ruins, we had only the simplest means at our disposal and I quickly had to learn how best to make do. Those experiences made me realise that hard work and effort and above all a focus on what is essential pay off. For me it was clear from then on that I wanted to achieve more in life than to simply earn a wage,” Paul Gauselmann says.
With great enthusiasm, Paul Gauselmann
started his apprenticeship after his childhood and school days as a telecommunications inspector with the company “Telefonbau und
Normalzeit” (T+N), after graduating from school in Münster in 1950 as best in class. Here, he was able to demonstrate his technical skills and understanding, completing both his apprenticeship and the subsequent six-month special training course that the company offered him at T+N’s company headquarters in Frankfurt with distinction. At the tender age of 21, not only was Paul Gauselmann already married and a father of two, he was also the youngest
inspector at T+N with his own district in Lengerich and responsibility for two technicians. The job came with a VW Beetle company car and 370 Deutschmarks (D-Marks)/month, a relatively good income for the day.
But Paul Gauselmann was always seeking new challenges and on 12 March 1956 became a
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