Visionary technologist, pioneer, association president and strategist for success
Dietmar Harting started out on his professional career 50 years ago. Dietmar Harting joined his parents’ company on 1 July 1967 – right after graduating. Now 77 years old, he can look back after fifty years in the service of the company on an impressive life’s work as one of the most important entrepreneurs in the industry, the local region and beyond.
Involvement on national and international committees
Having said that, Dietmar Harting hasn’t just been content to set the course within his own company. Since the1990s, he has been involved with national and international associations and committees, holding leading positions and successfully campaigning for regulation and standardisation making “a contribution to the success of European unity and the domestic market, which cannot be overestimated”, as the former EU Commissioner Günter Verheugen put it in 2010. Harting was President of the Zentralverband Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie (ZVEI) between 1998 and 2004, and headed the Deutsche Institut für Normung (DIN) for eight years – and the European standardisation organisations CENELEC and EXPRESS.
He became a member of the Council for Research, Technology and Innovation under Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl and the Partner for Innovation initiative under his successors Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel. He occupied further high-ranking positions – such as BDI Vice President and Chairman of the Exhibitor Council and Deputy Chairman of Deutsche Messe AG. And the awards are equally numerous: Honorary President of the ZVEI, the Federal Order of Merit, First Class (with his wife Margrit), the Lower Saxony Order of Merit, the Erich Gutenberg Prize, the Trade Fair Gold Medal of Honour and an Honorary Doctorate from the Leibniz University of Hanover in 2010.
Identifying trends early on
But – for this passionate and irrepressibly curious engineer who sees trends early on, analyses opportunities, weighs up the risks carefully and makes prudent decisions – sustainability for manufacturing, energy and materials consumption is of equally high value. The vision introduced in 1996 required HARTING to “Shape the future with technology for people”. Dietmar Harting is in no doubt that innovative technology products and processes can help many people, making their work and daily lives easier. And the science and research behind technological progress are essential for securing and creating employment and the competitive edge and leading position of the German economy.
In spite of the company‘s global stance and his own cosmopolitan outlook, Dietmar Harting – who is mostly quite reserved – remains intimately connected to his local region and homeland. He played handball at school and tennis later in life, and now supports and promotes sports clubs like ATSV Espelkamp, Preußen Espelkamp and GWD Minden, and provided the finance for modernising the Albert Pürsten Stadium in Espelkamp.
Dietmar Harting and his wife Margrit were made Honorary Citizens of the City of Espelkamp in 2009. In his laudatory speech, Mayor Heinrich Vieker told how they had demonstrated exemplary commitment to the local region for decades – as supporters, trendsetters and patrons.
When he handed over Chairmanship of the Board to his son Philip in 2015 (daughter Maresa is Vice President Finance and Purchasing) to devote himself to “New Technology”, his record could not be more exemplary. In five decades, Dietmar Harting has shaped the company with a dynamic hand, transforming it into one of the world’s leading industrial connector providers, a global player, trend-setter and driver of Industry 4.0. And – with recent turnover at 586 million Euros – the third generation of the family is in very safe hands – and well on the way to making it one billion.
1967 – 2017
| What was happening at HARTING… | …and in the outside world |
| 1967 | |
| · Dietmar Harting (28) joins family owned and managed company | ·Germany mourns Konrad Adenauer, its first Chancellor |
| ·The main warehouse in Hall 22 is destroyed in a massive fire | ·Prof. Christiaan Barnard does the world’s first successful heart transplant |
| 1974 | |
| ·The production of circuit board connectors is at full pelt manufacture of jukeboxes ends | ·Germany beats Holland with goals from Paul Breitner and Gerd Müller, winning the World Cup for the second time |
| 1979 | |
| ·The foundation of the subsidiary in France is the first major steps towards globalisation | ·Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace |
| ·Construction of Plant 2 in the northern industrial zone | ·The Socialists become the biggest group in the first EU Parliament direct election |
| 1986 | |
| ·Development, production and sale of the Semtron outdoor electric vending machine | ·The Challenger space shuttle explodes shortly after take-off with seven astronauts on board |
| 1987 | |
| ·Margrit Harting becomes the Managing Director | ·Matthias Rust lands his sports plane in middle of Moscow undetected by Soviet radar |
| 1989 | |
| ·HARTING increases turnover by 22 % compared to previous year | ·The GDR opens its borders to the Federal Republic |
| 1996 | |
| ·HARTING creates vision to define its business goals and identity | ·Dolly the sheep born in Scotland as as world’s first cloned mammal |
| 1999 | |
| ·The Training and Presentation Center (SPC) is opened | ·Inauguration of the newly converted Reichstag in Berlin – the seat of Parliament |
| 2001 | |
| ·Inauguration of the new distribution centre in Minden. It was designed by famous Swiss architect Mario Botta. | ·Planes flown into the Twin Towers in New York. The world is shaken by the 9/11 terrorist attack. |
| 2006 | |
| ·HARTING wins the HERMES AWARD at HANNOVER MESSE – the most important international technology prize there is |
·The World Cup in Germany goes down in history as a sporting fairy tale |
| 2015 | |
| ·Dietmar Harting hands over Chairmanship of the Board to son Philip – fourth family Member of the Board is daughter Maresa Harting-Hertz | ·“Refugees” is the “word of the year”in Germany |
| 2016 | |
| ·Wins the HERMES Award again with MICA mini industrial computer | ·US President Barack Obama visits Hannover Messe and wows exhibitors and visitors – even on the HARTING stand |
| 2017 | |
| ·HARTING has attended HANNOVER MESSE since it started in 1947 and celebrates alongside “70 Years of HANNOVER MESSE“ | ·Angela Merkel wins her fourth term in office |
| ·Construction of European Distribution Center (EDC) begins – at 40 million Euros, the biggest investment in the company’s history |
·Republican billionaire Donald Trump enters office as 45th President of the United States |
