FAMILY BUSINESSES AND PRODUCT FAMILIES THROUGH THE AGES. FOCUS QUALITY CRAFT, HEALTHY FAMILY BUSINESSES AND GROWING PRODUCT GENERATIONS 04 TOOLS THE NEW PLANEX M IS THE ALL-ROUNDER AMONG OUR LONG-REACH SANDERS 12 TOOLS THE BRAND NEW EXOACTIVE ACTIVE EXOSKELETON REVOLUTIONISES THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY 20 DEDICATION A VISIT TO THE FAMILY BUSINESS MALER-MEISTER-MÜLLER & SOHN GMBH IN OBERLUNGWITZ, GERMANY 28 LOOK INSIDE WHY FESTOOL IS GOING ITS OWN CORDLESS WAY 52

EDITORIAL Dear readers, In family businesses, more than anywhere else, there is a close connection between tradition and modernity. We have experienced this first hand time and again during customer visits – most recently, and for this issue of the magazine, on our visit to Maler-Meister-Müller & Sohn GmbH in Oberlungwitz, Saxony. Founded in the former GDR, the third generation is now at the helm and has just set course for the future with an impressive, modern new building. Our product families too, which we are continuously further developing based on our DNA, demonstrate how inherent strengths...

04 Focus FAMILY BUSINESS In family businesses and product families alike, the next generation is always the best. 36 Expertise CLEAN AND HEALTHY WORK Effective dust extraction systems are therefore not merely optional but essential. 12 Tools PLANEX M The new PLANEX LHS 2-M 225 enhances our range of long-reach sanders. 38 Projects & Work RASKASTA TYÖTÄ Out and about with renovation professional Seppo Heinämaa and the new RG 130 ECI. 18 Expertise FILLING AND SANDING Surface preparation for dry mortarless construction depends on the material and the tool. 44 Favourites FESTOOL SPOTLIGHTS We asked...

Focus Family business

Focus Family business From generation to generation, families of craftspeople nurture tradition and manage to continuously reinvent themselves. We at Festool, now as before a family-run company, support them with this – and learn from them. So that you are always one step ahead of the changing times. Text: Ralf Christofori | Photography: Torben Jäger, Thomas Baumann

Focus Family business 1. Healthy family businesses. Family businesses create values that are hard to quantify, but cannot be valued enough. elevance is not a question of size. Whether large or small – family businesses are a supporting pillar of all national economies. They make up about 60 per cent of all companies in Europe. It would be impossible to determine their value creation in each industry. But this much is true: In trades, family businesses create long-lasting and sustainable tangible and intangible values. Of course, the changing times are not a sure-fire success. Especially not in...

Family businesses make up an average of 40–50% of all jobs in the private sector in Europe. “MY FATHER STARTED SMALL 57 YEARS AGO. IN THE MEANTIME, MY TWO SONS AND I ARE RUNNING THE BUSINESS. THREE YEARS AGO, WE INVESTED A SIGNIFICANT SUM IN A NEW WORKSHOP – FOR THE FAMILY AND THE FUTURE OF THE COMPANY.” Craft has always been family-oriented: Over 75% of all businesses are family businesses. In Germany alone, around 1 million businesses count as craft busin

“HOW CAN OR MUST FAMILY BUSINESSES SET THEMSELVES APART? THROUGH QUALIFICATION AND SPECIALISATION.” Dino Frey “IT’S NOT JUST IN THE PAINTING TRADE THAT PROPER TRAINING IS REQUIRED TODAY, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE CUSTOMERS WITH EXPERT ADVICE.” Klau

Focus Family business 2. Quality craft. Klaus Stöhr and Dino Frey speak about the strengths of the painting trade, the advantages of family businesses and their future. FM: You have both been working in the painting business for a long time. Have any personal experiences in or with family businesses made an impact on you? KS: I come from a family of masons, but I decided early on that I wanted to learn the painting trade – something I proceeded to do in a small family business. It was pretty patriarchal, but also very personal. We were certainly closely involved in the business activities. DF:...

Focus Family business 3. Constantly improving. Our product families grow from generation to generation. And the next generation is always the best. or us, customers are part of the extended Festool family. This has always been the case, and is perhaps true today more than ever before. When it comes to developing new products or product families, we work for you and with you. As we move towards a market launch, the differentiated and honest assessment of selected test businesses is invaluable. After all: if our customers are happy, then we’re happy too. “THE CONTINUOUS FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF CORDLESS...

↑ With the CTC SYS cordless extractor, Jonas Müller from Maler-MeisterMüller & Sohn GmbH in Oberlungwitz can keep things clean wherever he goes, even on scaffolding. ← The new Festool ExoActive* exoskeleton doesn’t just look futuristic, it’s also a milestone for current and future generations of painters. BATTERY POWER. Few developments have shaped our product generations so much in the last few decades as battery technology. You can find out more about Festool’s journey towards battery power from page 52 of this magazine or online via this QR code: Scan the QR code and experience the battery...

Wendlingen Germany

It’s no secret that our longreach sanders are long. And now there are three of them. Between the PLANEX easy LHS-E and the fully equipped PLANEX LHS 2, there’s a new PLANEX LHS 2-M – the allrounder with unique qualities! Text: Melissa Berger Photography: Thomas Baumann, Torben Jäger ur PLANEX long-reach sanders have been right at the top of the popularity scale for many years. Why? Because they produce quick results, even when sanding large areas. With minimal effort, both for coarse sanding and fine sanding, the result is more than impressive. If you set store by having the full equipment including...