Here to Shape the Future

Do you remember your first meeting?

Dr. Felix Schwenke: That was on 29 April 2020, and it was very exciting. Andreas Widl showed me around the plant. I could sense it: this is a man who wants to change something — and who will actually do it. Convincing him to start over completely in Offenbach seemed unlikely at the time. What mattered to me was understanding what SAMSON needed — so that we could offer exactly that.

Dr. Andreas Widl: That day, I met a Mayor who thinks entrepreneurially and wants to shape things, not just administer them. Felix Schwenke considered it almost impossible to win this huge project, and yet he did everything to make it happen with us.

Did you know SAMSON beforehand, Dr. Schwenke?

Dr. Schwenke: I only knew the buildings from driving past them on the A 661 autobahn, and I suspected it was an industrial company. To be honest, I didn't know that SAMSON produced valves.

Dr. Widl: SAMSON was actually Frankfurt's best-kept secret for a long time. Everyone knows the site, but hardly anyone knows what we do. At least that was the case before our MainChange project.

When you first heard the term MainChange, what went through your mind?

Dr. Schwenke: At first glance, the term suggests we are "simply" moving to the other side of the Main. That almost trivializes what stands behind it: an immense financial commitment from the company and the owning family, as well as organizational feats by the executive board and the project leadership.

Dr. Widl: MainChange was exactly the right name: there is the river Main, but it is also a "main change" and a "mind change". So the name doesn't only stand for the move to Offenbach — it stands for transformation. It's a generational project. The largest investment in the company's history.

What associations did you have with Offenbach?

Dr. Widl: For a long time, Offenbach stood in Frankfurt's shadow for me. And then I opened up to this city and realized: Offenbach has everything it takes to undergo transformation, and we are experiencing that right now. The high proportion of people with international backgrounds is an opportunity for us, not a challenge. People want to work, to contribute, to take on responsibility. Add to that the central location in the heart of the Rhine-Main region, a vibrant arts scene, proximity to research institutions, and a political environment that supports new business investment.

And that's already showing in reality: more and more companies are discovering Offenbach. SAMSON is just one example — many others are investing here too, because they recognize the city's potential.

Dr. Schwenke: Offenbach was once a city with a strong industrial identity — above all through the leather goods industry, which made world history here, but also through printing machinery, household appliances, steel, and chemicals. As early as 1842, one of Germany's first chemical factories was established on Mühlheimer Straße. When the last user, Clariant, finally handed the site back to the city in 2020, a piece of industrial history came to an end. Today, this site stands like no other in the city for past heydays, for decline — and now for the chance of a new beginning. The fact that SAMSON is settling right here is a strong signal: industry is returning to Offenbach — to the same place, but in a modern, future-oriented form. It shows that Offenbach is once again capable of being home to the industries of the future.

How were you received in Offenbach, Dr. Widl?

Dr. Widl: Offenbach is welcoming culture at its best. And a stroke of luck for SAMSON: where in Germany can you build a new factory only a few kilometers from the old site — right in the middle of a city — without losing a single employee? A new building offers us something we never had at the old location: a single, contiguous site. This allows us to design our value streams optimally — and at the same time to create modern, well-thought-out working environments for the people who work here. And all of it fully energy-optimized. We are not just building the factory for machines, but for people. Something that will be remembered for generations to come. That's why we approached this project both boldly and humbly. Here and now, we are setting the course for the future.

The Offenbach authorities were very quick and granted building permits in record time. What are you doing differently, Dr. Schwenke?

Dr. Schwenke: Two things came together here. At SAMSON, the entire company stood behind the project. And in our administration, too, there was the mindset to want to change something. Many wanted to play their part in ending decades of decline and helping Offenbach write a different story again. We met every two weeks, plus additionally whenever needed, set up internal monitoring, and everyone knew: if things get difficult, you can come straight to me. That allowed us to find solutions and make decisions quickly.

What are your highlights in this project?

Dr. Widl: It is incredible to already be sitting in the first building of the new production site. Four years ago we bought a derelict plot of land — without a zoning plan. Today, the first electronic components from Offenbach are being produced here. What is particularly important to me is to take our workforce along through communication and to inspire them for MainChange. Our employees see that we think long-term and that we are investing in Germany with our own capital and a clear sense of conviction. That way, something is emerging here that will endure for the generations to come. And I am very glad that it is happening in Offenbach. Of course, there were surprises too: a pair of little ringed plovers — a bird I hadn't known before — was breeding on the construction site, and together with the city we created compensation areas for them. Building is complex and an adventure in its own right, but a great deal is possible when everyone works together.

Dr. Schwenke: Very special moments were when SAMSON decided to build the factory in Offenbach entirely from scratch. Then we celebrated the groundbreaking, and so things became reality. When you drive through the city now, you can see the company growing. The huge high-bay warehouse isn't finished yet, but you can already sense how it will later stand enthroned on the Main like a kind of trophy — a real statement from SAMSON. And the fact that, together, we managed to grant the building permit for this enormous plant within just ten weeks.

What does the move of SAMSON to Offenbach mean to you personally?

Dr. Schwenke: Buying the huge Clariant production site was a major risk for us in 2020. At the time, we didn't know whether we would find users for it. After all, no one had been found in nine years. Personally, SAMSON is the first success in my time as Mayor with massive and long-term significance — in terms of jobs, space, symbolism, and economic impact. That will always be something special for me, and especially for the citizens of this city.

Dr. Widl: We are preserving 2,000 jobs in the Rhine-Main region. That is a success for the region and for Germany. As a Mittelstand company, we say what we do, and we do what we say. I have the greatest respect for the — unique — German Mittelstand, because here it is people who take on responsibility and invest their own money. We lead on a day-to-day basis, but we don't think and act in quarters; we think in years, if not generations. That is exactly what MainChange stands for.

Dr. Schwenke: How special this is can also be seen from the fact that, for the first time in 50 years, a Federal Chancellor visited Offenbach again. That is a wonderful sign of recognition.

What will MainChange make of SAMSON, Dr. Widl?

Dr. Widl: It will make us a company that keeps its roots and continues to build valves. But also one that generates value through the most modern production methods, digitalizes on a massive scale, optimizes the value stream, is future-proof and competitive, and demonstrates that it is possible to produce in Germany at an international level. MainChange secures SAMSON's future.

And what do you wish for the future, as Mayor?

Dr. Schwenke: I wish for myself, and for my city, that 100 years of SAMSON in Frankfurt will grow into more than 100 years of SAMSON in Offenbach.