Text: Olaf Adam, Photos: Burmester Audiosysteme, Jens Ahner
This article originally appeared in 0dB - The Magazine of Passion N ° 2
When company founder Dieter Burmester died in 2015, many worried about how things would go on with one of the most famous figureheads for German hi-fi. However, the team around the widow Marianne Burmester kept calm during this difficult time and looked around for a successor who should take the fate of the traditional company in hand. It was clear that the company should continue in the spirit of Dieter Burmester, regardless of investors, banks and corporations.
When this successor was finally presented in the spring of 2016, one was amazed. Because with Andreas Henke, a newcomer to the branch who had previously been responsible for marketing at Porsche, moved into the Berlin headquarters. A car manager who jumps from the predetermined career ladder to plunge into the hi-fi adventure - that caused a sensation in both camps.
It was precisely this change that stimulated the newcomer to Berlin, out of the structures of a group and into real entrepreneurship. Henke is always aware of the great responsibility that this step entails and therefore also curbs his thirst for action. “Of course I came to Berlin with a thousand fresh ideas. But I have great respect for what Dieter Burmester has created here in 38 years of his life. My job is therefore to lead the company as part of the next generation in such a way that at some point I can hand it over to the next generation, richer in experience, emotions and credibility. "
Understanding what the company founder wanted to achieve with his company and why it was so successful over four decades is the focus for the successor when it comes to the future of Burmester. “You have to ask yourself first what will last over time? This certainly applies to our design and the materials used; here it would be fatal to follow short-lived trends. But that also applies to our technologies. The strictly symmetrical signal path, which Dieter Burmester developed with great foresight, is still useful today if you are striving for the best possible listening experience. "
But technology is ultimately just a means to an end and serves the actual goal. “In the end, it's not about meeting measurements. It's about creating an effect on the listener. The acoustic result must touch the listener and touch the heart through the completeness of the musical information. A good loudspeaker on a good system conveys the subtleties, smoothness and character of music so well that you can visualize the instruments, the orchestra and the recording situation. "
With a company like Burmester, Andreas Henke has also assumed a good deal of responsibility towards the customers and fans of the brand. After all, they are used to being able to supplement or expand their system with new products, even years later, that match the existing devices visually and technically. The manager sees this fact as one of Burmester's key brand promises. “In a world that turns a little faster every day, we want people to be solid as a rock. A landmark to hold onto. With our products, we create value that remains, that will never be embarrassing, and that is still really fun after 15 years or more. "
The manager is convinced that technical reliability and longevity are a matter of course in the market segment served by Burmester, which customers require and expect. In addition, Henke sees the actual quality of his products elsewhere: “A Burmester system enables a very special experience that you can indulge in over and over again over years and decades. From which you get food for the soul again and again, where you can let yourself go. When you switch on a Burmester system, you switch off the world around you for a moment. "
Anyone who initially feared that the new manager would completely turn the company inside out was obviously mistaken. On the contrary, the first Burmester premieres under Henke's aegis not only carry the core of the brand in their hearts, they raise it to a whole new level. With the huge new BC350 loudspeakers and the mighty 159 mono power amplifiers, the Berlin-based company has just presented two new high-end products that have never even been available from Burmester in this dimension. “We will certainly not disappoint fans and customers who have valued Burmester for decades for our hi-fi products. Rather, we are expanding and strengthening this area, because this is where the roots and core of our brand lie, and it will stay that way. "
“But that doesn't mean that we don't think about things that may seem provocative at first glance. Dieter Burmester's step into the automotive business was also discussed very controversially at the time. So we definitely have ideas that deal with new areas of business, but it may not be the time for that. ”As managing director of Burmester, Andreas Henke has to think economically, of course, but there is more to him. “The company should and must continue to develop, but for that you also need a feel and gut feeling for what is right and reasonable for the brand. Fortunately, I don't have to make such decisions alone, because I have a group of employees, some of whom have worked here for a long time. And in discussions with them, with dealers and with customers, I develop a deeper understanding of the brand every day. "
The task of continuing the life's work of Dieter Burmester is certainly not an easy one. But Andreas Henke also knows that standing still means going backwards in the long term. That is why he has decided to lead the company and the brand sustainably, but also emphatically into the future. Evolution instead of revolution is the motto. Or, as he himself puts it: “Cultivating tradition does not mean preserving ashes. It means carrying the torch on until you pass it on to the next runner. "
