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[108] Female entrepreneurs at AST

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Female entrepreneurs at AST

Time and again, women in Hirsau rolled up their sleeves and became successful entrepreneurs in a company. Seuffer has been operating as AST International since 2019. Women are now successful in all areas of the company...

Elisabeth Seuffer

In 1926, Robert Seuffer from Stuttgart, aged 28, acquired the branch of Gmünder Floreat-Metallwerke AG in Hirsau and took over the registered trademark for wall hooks. “Floreat” means “may it flourish,” and that was to be the motto. The difficult work was mainly done by women. Since agriculture in Hirsau did not offer enough opportunities, the company was a welcome source of employment for them. With the start of World War II, the years of initial prosperity were followed by a difficult period of losses. When Robert Seuffer did not return from the war, his wife Elisabeth took over the business together with an authorized signatory. A spirit of improvisation was required until the innovative strength of the employees turned the business into a thriving company. Their son Rudolf later took over the technical management, and the company grew. In 1976, however, a global recession led to a decline in business.

Dorothee Oberländer

A year later, Manfred Oberländer, a graduate engineer, took over the struggling company and realigned it. In 1980, production of mechatronic products, mechanical assemblies, and integrated electronics began. In addition to small iron goods, high-frequency switches for communications and TV technology were produced. When he died in 1989, Dorothee Oberländer continued to run the business with the active support of the managing directors. The number of employees grew. From 1992, when the Iron Curtain fell, companies were founded in the East and new markets were opened up thanks to intelligent control systems. In 1996, the company structure was reorganized with a process-oriented organization. This enabled a faster and more flexible response to external impulses. In 2009, more than a third of sales were lost. Nevertheless, a new development center was opened in order to return to a path of continuous growth. In 2014, a joint venture was launched with Hilti Aktiengesellschaft to drive forward joint developments in the field of power electronics. In 2019, the Robert Seuffer company was sold and, due to the high importance of sensor technology and the international customer structure, it became part of AST (Advanced Sensor Technologies).Today, AST International is a technology company specializing in sensor technology and supplies leading customers from all over the world with innovative products and services from its base in Hirsau. AST International´s corporate culture continues to be shaped by the bold and innovative thinking and actions of a new generation of outstanding female entrepreneurs. They can be found in all areas of the company, from development and production to administration and corporate management. The company is very proud of this.