Over 100 times a year, Walter Mennekes

exhibits his products at trade fairs around

the globe – including Hamburg. He firmly

believes that nothing can replace per-

sonal encounters. In fact, some of these

have permanently changed his life.

IT ALL BEGANWITH A MISUNDERSTANDING:

as a

child, said Walter Mennekes, he was sometimes bored at

Sunday service. He therefore didn’t understand why his

father would voluntarily travel to the Hanover Trade Fair for

several weeks each year. (In German, church service and

trade fairs are both called “Messe”.) That was until he him-

self breathed in the air at a trade fair for the first time, gazed

in amazement at the exhibits in the enormous halls and

enjoyed the international atmosphere.

Today, MENNEKES Elektrotechnik GmbH & Co. KG exhibits

its connector systems which comply with international elec-

trotechnical standards at around 100 trade fairs worldwide

each year. “Nothing can replace a personal discussion,” says

the 67-year-old senior partner with conviction. His company’s

product range comprises over 5,000 standard devices and

10,000 special devices as well as charging systems for elec-

tric vehicles. Mennekes is the inventor of the type 2 charging

connector, which will be used as the international standard

for Europe from 2017. The company is one of the globally

operating, highly specialised market leaders in its segment.

And yet Walter Mennekes does not like the “hidden cham-

pion” moniker and involuntarily uses “we” when referring

to small and medium-sized German companies. “If it’s true

that 90 percent of Germany’s economic strength comes from

✱ ✱ ✱

MENNEKES Elektrotechnik was founded in 1935 as a workshop in the

Sauerland. Today, Walter Mennekes runs the business with his son

Christopher. The company’s 1,000 or so employees worldwide produce

plugs and connectors for the international manufacturing industry.

TRADE FAIR

ENTHUSIAST AND

SPORTS FAN

THE NETWORKER

Hamburg Messe und Congress | Annual Report 2014

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