“The family personifies stability and long-term thinking”
Klaus Endress, who shaped Endress+Hauser for decades as CEO and president of the Supervisory Board, is retiring. From now on, Steven Endress and Sandra Genge will represent the shareholding family on the Supervisory Board. In an interview the trio discusses stable values, corporate responsibility and celebrating Christmas together.

As members of the Endress family, what comes to mind when you hear the name Endress+Hauser?
Steven Endress: I would boil it down to three things: passion, performance and pride.
Klaus Endress: A great company where people like to work and one that others like to work with. At least that’s what I hear from outside the company (laughs).
Sandra Genge: First and foremost I’m proud to be a member of the family that in two generations managed to build this terrific company. Whoever you speak with, young apprentices or people in the management team, the sense of commitment can be felt everywhere. This is unique and something that both fascinates and motivates me.
Sandra Genge and Steven Endress, you represent the family on the Supervisory Board now that Klaus Endress is retiring. Do you see your mission as carrying the Endress+ Hauser culture out into the world?
Steven Endress: Absolutely. This is already happening on a daily basis. We talk about the Endress+Hauser culture and brand with the aim of instilling our values in employees around the world.
Sandra Genge: We want to exemplify the culture, not only as members of the Endress family in our interactions with employees and customers, but also within our own family, with a view towards our own children and future generations, just like we experienced from our own parents.
Klaus Endress: Whether exemplifying our culture within the family or towards employees and customers, it only works if we have credibility. I have to be personally convinced that I’m doing the right thing, then I can stand up for it credibly. We not only talk about these guiding principles but also live by them. This is how I can inspire the people around me with our values, our culture. And they in turn they do the same for the people around them. This is how an understanding of our culture spreads everywhere in the company.
Is this cultural foundation sufficiently anchored to carry us into the future?
Sandra Genge: I believe we have created a solid basis: from the company’s side with the Spirit, which puts the culture into words, and the ‘Loyalty and Responsibility’ sculpture, which visualizes it. In 2006 we created the Family Charter, which commits us as a family to common goals and values. It will be important for us to continue promoting and cultivating this foundation into the future. I’m firmly convinced that our corporate values and culture are what have made Endress+Hauser so unique and enduringly successful.
Mr Endress, do you share the impression that the culture created and cultivated by you and your father is on fertile ground with the new generation?
Klaus Endress: Yes – and I’m very proud of that. We put a lot of effort into ensuring that the Spirit continues to thrive in the minds of the family. And that should continue into the future. Solidarity in the family, in the company too, is the most important thing. That’s something you have to work hard at, every day, and never stop. When I spend time at the company today and talk with people, I can sense and experience an incredible feeling of ‘we’.
Steven Endress: While technology is the company’s DNA, the way that everything plays together is based on emotions, strong dedication and the passion of the people who keep the company running.
Sandra Genge: The strong corporate culture at Endress+Hauser indisputably contributed to the company’s past success. That’s not something that comes out of the blue. This culture was planted by the first generation and continues to be developed and cultivated by the second generation. And so it will continue into the third. This is one of our primary responsibilities as family members.