Max Grundig (; 7 May 1908 – 8 December 1989) was the German founder of electronics company

Grundig AG Grundig ( , , ) is a Turkey, Turkish home appliances and consumer electronics brand. It is owned by Arçelik, Arçelik A.Ş., the Major appliance, white goods (major appliance) manufacturer of Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding. Originally a Ge ...

Early life

Grundig was raised by his parents in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

where he delayed his final school exams (''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

'') and completed training as an electrician. Grundig's father died when he was 12 and his mother had to support her five children on a factory wage. Young Grundig started his working life as a plumber's apprentice.

Career

In 1930, Grundig and a colleague opened a store selling radios under the name Fürth, Grundig & Wurzer (RVF), generating one million

Reichsmark The (; sign: ℛ︁ℳ︁; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945, and in the American, British and French occupied zones of Germany, until 20 June 1948. The Reichsmark was then replace ...

in sales by 1938. After World War II, business expanded with a successful range of

consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...

. In 1972, the company became a

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

and was sold to

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

in 1984. His company was one of the first to produce FM radios, cutting out static interference for clearer reception. In 1952, it was one of the first European companies to start producing television sets. Grundig built his company up after World War II to become a market leader in home entertainment products and a symbol of West Germany's ''

Wirtschaftswunder The ''Wirtschaftswunder'' (, "economic miracle"), also known as the Miracle on the Rhine, was the rapid reconstruction and development of the Economy, economies of West Germany and Austria after World War II. The expression was first used to re ...

''. It was only in the late 1970s that it began to lose some of its market share as it came under increasing pressure from lower-priced Japanese products, and in 1980 the company recorded its first losses. Grundig's answer to the Asian competition was to form EURO, a common front of European manufacturers. It did not stave off the challenge, however, and the company was forced to close eleven plants and cut its workforce from 35,000 to 29,000 workers. In 1984, the Dutch

group bought out nearly a one-third share and took over the management. Colleagues described Grundig as a workaholic who made decisions alone and took interest in the minutest details of his business. "Order is holy to him; it means as much as half", was an official company description of him.

Personal life

At the age of 21, Grundig married Berta Haag, daughter Inge was born 1930. After this birth the marriage was divorced. In 1938 he married soprano Anneliese Jürgensen. In 1981 he married his third wife Chantal Grundig. They had daughter Maria-Alexandra. He received the

Eduard Rhein Ring of Honor The Eduard Rhein Foundation was founded in 1976 in Hamburg (Germany) by Eduard Rhein. The goal of the foundation is to promote scientific research, learning, arts, and culture. This is done in particular by granting awards for outstanding achieveme ...

from the German

Eduard Rhein Foundation The Eduard Rhein Foundation was founded in 1976 in Hamburg (Germany) by Eduard Rhein. The goal of the foundation is to promote scientific research, learning, arts, and culture. This is done in particular by granting awards for outstanding achieveme ...

in 1982.

References

External links

* Engineers from Nuremberg German company founders 20th-century German businesspeople 20th-century German art collectors Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg 1908 births 1989 deaths {{Germany-engineer-stub