He stepped into big footsteps
After 27 years, 20 of them as a managing director, Horst Keller leaves HORSCH. terraHORSCH looks back on the milestones of his activities in the company.
It all began in 1994 when Horst Keller (born in 1963) started to work for the company and together with co-founder Walter Horsch took over the commercial management. About one and a half years later he also became head of the departments purchasing, HR and IT. Already in 1997, the managing directors Michael and Walter Horsch gave him full power of attorney and thus the permission to represent HORSCH officially. In January 2001, Walter Horsch retired from the management and Horst Keller was appointed managing director of the HORSCH Maschinen GmbH together with Michael Horsch.
Own production site
Two years later Mr Keller became head of sales in Germany, Austria and Great Britain on an interim basis as Cornelia Horsch took care of the establishment of HORSCH France in France. Horst Keller always was ready and flexible enough to deal with sectors that were not necessarily a direct part of his tasks. Like all the other family members his opinion was: I will get involved wherever I am needed and will roll up my sleeves! He considered this as a challenge but also as a chance to grow personally. He often said: ”Such experiences help me to mature and broaden my mind.“
He was also co-responsible for one of the perhaps most important decisions in the company’s history: the opening of the first own production site away from the company headquarters in Schwandorf: the site in Ronneburg. Already before the official opening in 2007 he, in 2005, had started to look for an appropriate site, a difficult and complex search.
Other important decisions Horst Keller actively pushed were the foundation of an own sales company HORSCH UK in the United Kingdom in 2010 and of a HORSCH subsidiary in the US, the HORSCH LLC, in 2013. An own large site in the United States including production and R & D was established in Mapleton, North Dakota. At the same time Horst Keller regularly commuted to Landau. For he himself and his team introduced a completely new financial and accounting software on site at HORSCH LEEB.
From nine to 450 million
Due to the increasing globalisation and internationalisation of HORSCH with own sales subsidiaries and a lot of international sales partners customs topics marked the last years of his activity.
During Horst Keller’s time as a co-managing director HORSCH’s sales increased from nine million Euro in 1994 to more than 450 million Euro in 2020.
Being the responsible managing director of the financial sector Horst Keller always attached great importance to working independently as well as to fair salary structures, the reward of performance and commitment, human co-operation as well as clear and reliable structures which make the employees feel safe.
A highlight of his career also were the numerous economy awards HORSCH won under his responsibility. Among them ”Bavaria‘s Best 50“ and the ”Award for Medium-sized Companies“.
We would like to thank Horst Keller for his long high and dedicated commitment!