Aloys Wobben

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Aloys Wobben (2008)

Bernhard Aloys Wobben (born January 22, 1952 in Rastdorf , Lower Saxony ; † before or on August 2, 2021 ) was a German electrical engineer and entrepreneur . He is considered a pioneer in the wind energy industry and was the founder of the wind turbine manufacturer Enercon . Aloys Wobben was one of the 50 richest individuals in Germany and had assets of an estimated 5.98 billion euros.

Life

Wobben initially trained as an electrical machine builder , studied electrical engineering at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and later at the Technical University of Braunschweig . During his scientific assistant at the Technical University of Braunschweig, he was already concerned with renewable energies. His focus was particularly on inverter technology . Together with his college friend Meinhard Remmers, the first wind turbine with a nominal output of 22 kW was built in 1975 .

In 1984 he founded the wind turbine manufacturer Enercon in Aurich . He started with the development and production of wind turbines with three employees. In the following years, Enercon developed into one of the most successful companies in the German wind energy industry. In 1993, Aloys Wobben switched production to the gearless wind turbine with a full converter that he had developed . The Enercon E-40 system met expectations and ensured the company's global success. The company became the German market and technology leader and successfully held its own in one of the top four places on the world market for years.

Even if his primary tasks were to run the company, Wobben was still personally involved in the improvement and development of the products. Smaller business and research areas were solar inverters , equipment for off- grid systems (e.g. flywheel storage ), combined heat and power plants , hydropower plants and seawater desalination plants . As reported by Financial Times Deutschland , Wobben intended to become more involved in the field of electric drives .

For health reasons, Wobben withdrew from operational business in 2012 and transferred his company shares to the Aloys Wobben Foundation with effect from October 1, 2012. The foundation thus became the sole shareholder of the Enercon Group. With this step, Wobben wanted to ensure the company's independence.

Relationship with trade unions

Wobben was known for its negative attitudes towards unions . Enercon, and especially Wobben itself, have been accused of preventing its employees from being unionized. There have been reports of intimidation and dismissal of Enercon employees who joined a union or advocated the establishment of works councils. Trade unionists also criticized the high proportion of temporary workers in the total number of employees in the Enercon Group, as well as the fact that Enercon does not apply the collective agreement and pays below average.

capital

According to manager magazin, Wobben has been one of the 100 richest Germans since 2006 and was also the richest in Lower Saxony. He was in 2006 at number 82; in 2007 he shared 24th place with Johanna Quandt and the Flick family with assets of 4.8 billion euros. For 2009, according to Manager-Magazin, the assets were estimated at 3.8 billion euros, 24th place. In 2010, according to an estimate by Manager-Magazin Wobben's wealth, it fell to 2.9 billion euros, 29th place . $ 1 billion. In 2013, Wobben, with an estimated fortune of 5.6 billion euros, made it to 16th place in the manager magazine's ranking. In 2015, the magazine Bilanz determined an estimated assets of 7.5 billion euros. Wobben thus reached 14th place among the richest Germans.

Awards

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alexander Preker: Wind power pioneer: Enercon founder Aloys Wobben is dead. In: Spiegel Online . August 3, 2021, accessed August 3, 2021 .
  2. ↑ The richest Germans 2021. In: vermoegenmagazin.de. January 3, 2021, accessed August 4, 2021 .
  3. ↑ Creative Destroyers: Aloys Wobben - Wheel of Fortune. In: Financial Times Deutschland , January 27, 2009.
  4. ↑ a b c Hannes Koch: Ecological and anti-social. In: taz.de . August 24, 2006. Retrieved February 25, 2012 . Hannes Koch: Works councils undesirable at Enercon. In: taz.de. August 24, 2006. Retrieved February 25, 2012 .
  5. ↑ Claus Hecking : Aloys Wobben - the unloved Mr. Wind. In: Financial Times Germany . December 11, 2009, archived from the original on December 14, 2009 ; accessed on August 4, 2021 .
  6. ↑ a b Hartmut Meine : "That is the bare minimum: fair wages, good work, social security!" 1st May event of the DGB in Magdeburg. (pdf; 88 kB) In: igmetall-nieder-sachsen-anhalt.de. P. 5–6 , accessed on March 23, 2012 (speech by the IG Metall district manager).
  7. ↑ Hans Brinkmann: Enercon boss Wobben remains at the top: The richest Lower Saxony. In: NOZ.de . October 15, 2010, accessed August 4, 2021 .
  8. ↑ Heiko Abbas: Wobben loses 900 million euros. In: NWZ Online . October 13, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2016 .
  9. ↑ # 384 Aloys Wobben. In: Forbes List . Accessed August 4, 2021 .
  10. ↑ richest German: Wobben 16th place in: oz-online.de . October 8, 2013, archived from the original on June 10, 2015 ; accessed on August 4, 2021 .
  11. ↑ The 55 richest Germans: Billions with food and cars. In: Bild.de . September 3, 2015, archived from the original on September 3, 2015 ; accessed on August 4, 2021 .
  12. ↑ Jens Heitmann: Wobben has long been doing more than in wind. In: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung . December 8, 2009, p. 5.
personal data
SURNAME Wobben, Aloys
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wobben, Bernhard Aloys (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German electrical engineer and entrepreneur
BIRTH DATE January 22, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Rastdorf , Lower Saxony
DATE OF DEATH before August 2, 2021