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About halfway through the interview, Reinhold von Eben-Worlée's cell phone rings.
But the boss and family owner of the food and raw materials manufacturer Worlée does not take a phone call, but gets up quickly and opens two large windows as far as they will go.
“That is my memory of ventilation,” says the 63-year-old entrepreneur.
In his company, which is engaged in the production of dried fruits for mueslis or ready meals as well as raw materials for the paint or cosmetics industry, there have so far only been a few employees who have been affected by the coronavirus.
This is how it should remain.
In an interview, von Eben-Worlée, who is also President of the Association of Family Entrepreneurs, mentions the greatest concerns of the around 180,000 companies he represents.
WORLD:
Mr. von Eben-Worlée, you have an insight into the country's family businesses: What is the situation like?
Reinhold von Eben-Worlée:
According to the school method, it is just a grade of 2.9.
That is the result of a survey from October among our association members.
The slump in sales for family businesses has been minus 13 percent since the beginning of the year, and incoming orders are 14 percent lower than in the same period of the previous year.
It is encouraging that 61 percent of the companies surveyed want to keep their jobs, 20 percent even want to increase employment and only 16 percent want to reduce the number of jobs.
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WORLD:
What do you know about impending bankruptcies among family businesses?
von Eben-Worlée:
The situation in the manufacturing industry is better than expected.
It was very helpful there that the federal government extended the protective shield for trade credit insurance.
This maintains the creditworthiness of many companies.
In terms of services, however, things look bad.
In the areas of tourism, gastronomy and also at trade fairs and suppliers, I expect a large wave of bankruptcies.
Many of these companies have largely used up their equity.
If there are then a large number of insolvency cases, I expect chaos in the settlements, because there is simply a lack of insolvency administrators.
Creditors will then not be served with their claims, which in turn can have negative effects on many businesses.
WORLD:
The state does a lot to help companies.
He is now even one of the largest shareholders in the travel company TUI.
Is this the right way?
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von Eben-Worlée:
We family businesses tick
when it comes to
regulatory policy.
This means that the state sets the framework, but it does not play the role of entrepreneur.
If I know correctly, very few parts of TUI are in German hands.
Obviously, the state is concerned with the workers.
In my experience, a company that has gotten into a tailspin can often not be saved with a lot of money.
It is better to pull the rip cord before going into the wild.
At Lufthansa, however, I see state participation differently.
Germany needs such access to the world and the airline's business model worked well before.
As for the efforts of Minister of Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier to want to use state subsidies to create European champions among companies: our association rejects something like that.
WORLD: At
the moment, money hardly seems to play a role when it comes to state aid.
von Eben-Worlée:
I would have said earlier that the normal person thinks in hundreds or thousands, the entrepreneur in millions and the government in billions.
But today politics thinks in numbers with twelve zeros, in trillions.
This is very worrying for me.
And despite the sums, the bazooka mentioned by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz as a financing instrument is more of a stuttering machine gun with a wide distribution.
In addition, the federal government failed to have the EU in Brussels approve aids in good time.
A suitable computer program for distribution is still missing.
As a result, many of the urgently needed November aid payments will not be made until January.
The will to help is strong, but the implementation is so weak that it seems like a state failure.
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WORLD:
Is the renewed lockdown with the shutdown of the economy the right way?
von Eben-Worlée:
The more rigid the corona measures hit the economy, the more expensive it will be for the state in the end.
Further compensation payments will result in higher national debt.
And the longer a lockdown lasts, the more companies and their jobs will disappear from the market.
But to put all of this in relation to the danger to life and limb, that can only be done by politics.
WORLD:
At some point the billions of euros will have to be paid.
Do you expect tax increases?
von Eben-Worlée:
Since no galloping rise in economic management is to be expected next year, everything must be prepared now for a major reform of the tax system.
The SPD is demanding tax increases, and some opposition parties have already announced them.
But with higher taxes, the state would take away the investment capital that companies need to implement the green deal, for example.
The higher taxes rise for companies, the more Germany will lag behind in terms of ecological renewal of the economy.
WORLD:
Can the goal of the Green Deal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 be achieved?
von Eben-Worlée:
That will depend on the means chosen.
If we want to operate temperature-controlled systems with electricity or hydrogen instead of oil or gas, this energy has to become cheaper.
Germany is the most expensive country in Europe for electricity.
To switch away from oil and gas, we need an electricity price of four cents per kilowatt hour.
If the state removes taxes and duties on electricity, that is even possible.
WORLD:
Do you think the Green Deal is feasible at all?
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von Eben-Worlée: In
my opinion, a goal of zero emissions can only be achieved if we choose an intelligent strategy.
At the moment, however, only one promise is made that is not backed up with numbers and measures.
It is completely unclear which avoidance strategies the EU will choose.
The master plan is missing.
WORLD:
How will our economy continue in 2021?
von Eben-Worlée:
In the second half of 2021, the economy will be in many areas again to the level from the time before Corona.
Many people in Germany have saved money that they will convert into purchasing power next year.
WORLD:
And how will things go politically in the following year, possibly with a black-green federal government?
von Eben-Worlée:
We already had a government with the participation of the Greens under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
That was worse than feared in the first term, but much better than expected in the second term.
Any government is well advised to keep the economy healthy.
The problem with the Greens is that the top knows that, but the base thinks differently.
The Greens are a party of the satiated public servants.
Many of them want to transfer their personal income guarantee to all citizens.
But that doesn't work.
It is romantic to believe that you can be full without work.
WELT:
Your term of office as President of the Association of Family Entrepreneurs ends next summer.
Do you want to continue and if so, why?
von Eben-Worlée:
I will probably compete again for another two years.
I am excited by the educational work, explaining the rules of the game of entrepreneurship to politicians in a discourse.
Our strong family entrepreneurship is a guarantee for a functioning democratic system.
The experiences in our European neighbors, which have neglected the middle class, show how important this is for the stability of our country.
Family businesses have some catching up to do when it comes to digitization
When it comes to digitization, SMEs still have some catching up to do.
Family businesses are less well positioned in this area than large corporations.
This is shown by a current study by WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management.
Source: WELT / Nicole Fuchs-Wiecha