Managing Director Eckhard Fechtig recently celebrated 40 years with Hectronic! Reason enough to ask him a couple of questions as part of our new series “40 years – 4 questions”.

Can you tell us something about the early days?

When I was still at school, I already did holiday jobs at Kienzle (now Hectronic). Then I developed the goal to become an electronics technician. At that time, however, there was no such training at Kienzle in Bonndorf available. Instead, I completed my training as an information electronics technician at Kienzle in Villingen and returned to Bonndorf after 1.5 years. In Bonndorf I was responsible for the test field. At that time, we electronics technicians didn’t have a good reputation in the company. Because nothing crackled or rumbled, everyone thought we didn’t do anything at all (laughs). We were a small island, everything around us was still mechanical. Today that’s hard to believe. From mechanics to electronics, from analogue to software to today’s digital solutions and from the combustion engine to new types of drive. A lot has changed and will continue to do so.

40 years at Hectronic! And a success story from apprentice to managing director at that. How does one achieve something like that?

You simply must be open to new things and always see opportunities in challenges. And you need to be lucky enough to meet the right people in the right place at the right time. Hectronic founder Ernst Forster always challenged and encouraged me. He liked to ask: “Do you think you can do it?” when I was faced with a new task. Of course, that gave me a lot of motivation to complete the projects successfully. Later, it was similar with Stefan Forster and we still work together in a trusting relationship. At Hectronic, I went through every department and took a real “journey through the company”.

What do you wish for the future at Hectronic?

Quite simply: that we can fully live out the Hectronic spirit again after the pandemic. To exchange ideas personally and communicate directly, also with our subsidiaries. Direct communication is very important to us. Then, of course, events, be they public cultural events in our cafeteria or in-house. But I am confident. Because after 40 years, you know that a certain amount of ups and downs is normal and that, in the end, things always move forward!

And what is your next project?

There are many! It will be very interesting, for example, to launch new product types, for example for e-mobility or digital solutions. One thing is certain: we won’t run out of work…