HOW TO UNDERTAKE SUCCESSFUL WORLDWIDE NETWORKING OVER A PERIOD OF MANY DECADES.

The art of creating robust connections.

Hans Bruder ranks alongside the company's founder, Hans Staeger, as a key figure in OCTANORM's fifty-year history. Since he joined the company on 01.05.1978 Bruder has played a major role in the company's international success. Even after he gave up his management role in 2015 after 37 years at the company, his colleagues at Filderstadt have continued to benefit from his excellent worldwide connections. He is still the Managing Director of OSPI.

 

Mr Bruder, OCTANORM was unveiled 50 years ago – can you tell us about that memorable press conference?
Unfortunately I didn't attend the press conference on 06.12.1968 myself. But Mr Staeger made a point of telling me how he managed to leave a lasting impression on the guests and journalists at the event. His aim was to demonstrate at the event just how flexibly, and above all how quickly, the OCTANORM system can be used for assembling and disassembling stands. In order to provide a suitable setting for the event, the workbench room at the Raumtechnik company was completely transformed. At the press conference Mr Staeger arranged for two employees to make a Christmas tree out of OCTANORM upright extrusions and beams. But the actual climax of the conference was yet to come – when all the attendees thought the event was over. Following the press conference the guests were invited to lunch in a restaurant. While they had lunch there the conference room where they had just met disappeared. In no time at all it was completely dismantled and reconfigured. When the visitors returned to the building after lunch they couldn't believe their eyes: the room in which they had attended the event no longer existed. Instead they were in a workbench room full of machines. It would have been difficult to highlight more impressively just how flexible the OCTANORM system is. The astonished journalists ensured that the event received high profile media coverage. So Mr Staeger achieved exactly what he had been hoping to achieve.

What was – and still is – so unique about Hans Staeger's idea?
The octagonal upright extrusion. It's been used as our trademark, and it's become a symbol of our brand which still prompts an unrivalled level of recognition. It provided the solution for right-angle corners. Its eight outlets at 45° from each other provide greatly enhanced design opportunities, giving trade fair architects a much greater degree of freedom. In addition, the quick connection system using a tension lock was crucial to ensuring that extremely short set-up and disassembly times could – and can – be achieved with the OCTANORM system.

OCTANORM is a widely recognized name in the trade fair world – what's the reason for this name?
The shape of the upright extrusion inspired Mr Staeger to use the Latin word for eight, i.e. "OCTA". Adding the suffix "NORM" expressed the modular nature of the system. So joining the two elements together produced the "OCTANORM" company name.

How long did it take after the company was set up for OCTANORM to attract international attention?
Hans Staeger already had contacts with numerous marketing partners in other countries due to the marketing of the RTS glass construction system that he had developed. These marketing partners then spontaneously expressed an interest in marketing the OCTANORM system in their countries. The first OCTANORM licensee was appointed directly after the OCTANORM press conference that I mentioned at the start: it was the "RT Display" company in England. Shortly afterwards we managed to conclude further licence agreements in other countries.

 

The EuroShop seems to have been very important for OCTANORM from the outset – why is that?
The EuroShop in Dusseldorf is a key venue for OCTANORM because it's the world's largest event relating to trade fair construction as well as shopfitting and general interior fittings. In addition, more than half of the people who come to EuroShop are foreigners, making it a really international trade fair.

Making connections is evidently one of the company's core skills. Tell us about OSPI, what's the idea behind it?
The idea of the OCTANORM Service Partner International network is to bring together trade fair construction companies from around the world. The "Hier gedacht – dort gemacht" ("Designed here – built there") principle means that they can provide inexpensive and environmentally friendly trade fair stands for the international exhibitors that they work for. And they do this by working with a cooperation partner at the local trade fair site.
 

„I still particularly value
the personal contacts
between us and our partners.“

Who apart from you are the individuals or partners who have had a particular influence on OSPI?
Hans Staeger who helped me to get it started, and Angelika Holzwarth-Kocher who is the OSPI secretary, have certainly had a major influence on OSPI. The OSPI honorary committee has become an important body: its elected members support the work of OSPI GmbH.

The OSPI meetings are held at some of the most exciting locations in the world, such as the Iguazu Falls, the African savannah, or the Great Wall of China. Which is the one that you particularly remember?
It's enormously difficult to pick a favourite out of the 17 OSPI meetings that have so far been held. Every event has had its highlights. All the same, I've got particularly fond memories of the 1984 OSPI meeting at EuroShop in Dusseldorf since it was at the OCTANORM trade fair stand there that the OSPI partners met for the first time. Another very special event was the 2008 OSPI meeting in the United Arab Emirates when we celebrated OCTANORM's 40th anniversary in the desert in Dubai. And the 17th OSPI meeting in South Africa was of course very special. It was held in fascinating Cape Town and in the wilderness just outside Johannesburg, and it gave us the opportunity to join our partners and look back on the first 50 years of OCTANORM.

What's the "OSPI Next Generation" all about?
The "OSPI Next Generation" was unveiled for the first time at the 16th OSPI meeting, which was held in Canada. The working group is very keen to get the young, up-and-coming workers in the OSPI firms interested in the OSPI concept as well, so that they maintain its vibrancy and its success in the future.

Mr Bruder, you've forged a huge number of valuable links for OCTANORM, can you tell us what the secret of a good partnership is?
Good partnerships are based on mutual trust, because that's the bedrock of any successful collaboration.

The world is changing. Has it become easier to establish and maintain links which stand the test of time in the digital era?
In my opinion it's not necessarily got any easier to establish lasting links in the digital era, but there's no doubt that modern means of communication are very helpful. Especially in terms of maintaining existing contacts. However, I still particularly value face-to-face contacts. The fact that our OSPI partners feel the same way is always made clear by the huge number of people who attend the OSPI meetings which we hold every two years.

Today OCTANORM already operates in over 80 countries around the world. Are there nevertheless still locations that you would like to establish links with?
Potentially interesting areas for the future are countries in the Middle East and the Far East.

Mr Bruder, many thanks for this interview, and we wish you every success in establishing new links in the future.

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