Germina
Germina ( proper spelling GERMINA ) is the company name of a German sports equipment manufacturer . The name is an artificial word or loan word that was derived from the terms Germanien or Germany (English for Germany ). Germina is also translated as German.
Germina in the GDR
history
The forerunner of the Germina was the VVB Musikinstrumenten und Kulturwaren Plauen. One of the components was VEB Möbel- und Sportgeräte Schmalkalden ( Thuringia ), founded in 1976 . Production of skis, sledges and metal sports items increased significantly. At least 300 new gyms were equipped every year, and exports rose above average.
In addition to the development in the VVB itself, accompanying measures also contributed to the success of the GDR sports industry. In 1965 the cooperation association for sporting goods was formed, in 1967 the trade mark association for leisure and sporting goods and finally in 1969 the leisure show EXPOVITA at the Leipzig trade fair .
Foundation of the combine
End of 1980, the VVB was dissolved and the Kombinat VEB Kombinat sports equipment Germina Schmalkalden formed. Wolfgang Neupert has been the general director of the combine since 1981 . In 2017, today's workforce celebrated the company's 50th anniversary.
Germina was the center of sports and leisure goods production in the GDR. The 14 combine companies with a total of almost 8,000 employees manufactured sports equipment for individual use as well as for school sports and equipped the competitive athletes of the GDR with world-class products, which they won with numerous Olympic and world championships .
Product range
The product range at that time included u. a .:
- Winter sports equipment, including various types of skis . By the fall of 1989, around 400 employees had produced around 700,000 pairs of skis per year.
- Gymnastics equipment such. B. buck , pommel horse or ...
- Sneakers (e.g. Germina Sportus, NVA ASV and Intra), boxing shoes (e.g. Germina Avanti)
- Hiking boots (e.g. Germina Tourist)
- roller skates
- Germina Speeder - the only GDR skateboard
- Germina fishing rods
- "Germina" exercise bike
- Ice skates and camping supplies
- Leather goods
- Camping and garden furniture
- Indoor and lawn sports equipment
- Large gym equipment, summer sports equipment, children's playground equipment
Combine operations
In addition to the main plant in Schmalkalden with its operations in Floh-Seligenthal, Trusetal , Fambach , Wasungen , Näherstille , Geschwenda , Klingenthal / Schneckenstein in 14 plants and the like , the combine had production sites . a. in Kleinschmalkalden , Geraberg , Kaltensundheim , Gotha , Großfurra , Näherstille, Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz again ), Dresden , Bestensee , Leipzig , Stadtilm , Zeitz and Mühlhausen .
A list of companies from the GDR also includes:
- VEB Dresdner Schuhfabrik, F.-C.-Weißkopf-Straße 78 (Dresden Schuh, Germina Avanti)
- VEB Kombinat Sportgeräte Schmalkalden (Germina)
- VEB Kristiania, Weißenfels (Germina)
Germina experimented with then new materials, such as glass and carbon fibers . From 1981 a research center was built in Schmalkalden. From the beginning it cooperated with universities , institutes and the like. a. Sports research institutions .
Post-turnaround time
Confusion afterwards
After the fall of the Wall in 1989, there was enormous competition from cross-country ski manufacturers. GDR companies were wound up, sold or partially spun off. From 1990 to 1992 the previous head of the combine, Wolfgang Neupert, was appointed managing director of Germina Vertriebs- und Dienstleistungs-GmbH Schmalkalden by the Treuhandanstalt . After confusion about the name and a few restarts, other entrepreneurs began to continue the brand:
- 1992–1998: Michael von Schweinichen (originally appointed to reorganize the Treuhandanstalt) takes over the company with two partners and invested 2.7 million D-Marks in the then 80-man operation.
- 1998–2001: unchanged name holder and producer is Frank Nothnagel.
- 2001–2007: Bernhard Seidl and Georg Reichart take over after Nothnagel's bankruptcy and produce around 3,000 pairs of skis per year.
- 2007-approx. 2009: Seidl returns to the Floh location (Thuringia) and specializes in jump skis
- from approx. 2009: After a name dispute, Seidl produces the Germina in Unterschönau under the new label "Crazy-Falcon", Nothnagel with his naming rights
present
Today the company sees itself as a premium sporting goods manufacturer "Made in Germany". It is based in Unterschönau (town of Steinbach-Hallenberg , Thuringia ) and in 2010 employed 15 people. In addition to the traditionally extensive ski collection, z. As well as summer products such as mountain bikes and roller skis and extensive accessories, bike - and functional clothing or retro - sneakers .
Fluege.de (now SKI ) and Sport 2000 had their skis manufactured by the successor company of the former GDR sporting goods manufacturer Germina. Germina once knocked at Audi and Lufthansa to save his jump ski production. In the end, the controversial Leipzig Internet company Unister struck . It saw ski jumping as the ideal platform for its travel portal - and the advertising allegedly costs 700,000 euros a year. At Sport 2000, too, it is said quite openly that you can afford “jump skis instead of advertising”.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Die Zeit online 2017 , accessed August 29, 2019
- ↑ Germina News 2017 , accessed August 29, 2019
- ^ A b Christian Mathea: Germina: Die Bretter des Ostens on News.de February 26, 2010 , accessed August 29, 2019
- ↑ Online shop , accessed August 29, 2019
- ^ DDR-Museum online , accessed August 29, 2019
- ↑ The time accessed online August 29, 2019
- ↑ Artifacts online , accessed August 29, 2019
- ^ Spiegel Online January 31, 1994 , accessed August 29, 2019
- ↑ Thuringia Info online , accessed August 29, 2019
- ↑ Stuttgarter Nachrichten online , accessed August 29, 2019