A great deal of courage, a healthy dose of self-confidence, and above all, a drive that constantly propels him forward: This is what makes Christian Geppert, the 40-year-old founder, CEO, and owner of Geppert Konzept, tick. For my on-site visit this time, I've brought not only my camera, smartphone, paper, and pen, but also the BM-TV film crew. We are in Rain am Lech, Bavaria, to get to know the industrious joiner and his team and to gain deep insights into this exceptional joinery. As soon as we drive onto the premises, we notice that design plays a major role here. The entire complex (showroom, design offices, and workshops) looks as if designed by a single hand and is perfectly cohesive. And there's a reason for that: They take a holistic approach here.

"We are full-service interior outfitters and handle the planning from the ground up. We manage all the trades and manufacture almost everything ourselves, even upholstered furniture," Christian Geppert explains to me right away. Behind Geppert Konzept, there is not only a top-equipped joinery but also a design department and a "Loungery" (an interior decorating firm).

Visions Become Customer Dreams

To consistently implement a cohesive design across the board, you need clients who trust you and fit the concept. For this, the full-service outfitter has his own system. Potential clients must fill out a questionnaire. This ensures in advance whether the client is a good match for Geppert. For the owner, it's now quite simple: "If the clients don't align with our ideas and concepts, we end up losing hard cash," says the owner. With the motto "we make it real," the goal of the young, 20-plus-member team is to turn their own visions into their clients' dreams.

A Steep Career, A Record of Success

Let's take a small step back and look at the history of Geppert Konzept and its boss. Because there's some truly impressive momentum behind it!

Not long after Christian Geppert had his state-certified wood technician qualification under his belt, he began a steep, twelve-year career in sales at the hardware specialist Hettich. Talent, intuition, and good coaching quickly took him very far here. The special part: On the side, he built up a "garage-based joinery" that, with the support of only part-time staff, generated an annual turnover of nearly 360,000 euros. The main reason for this part-time self-employment was initially the opportunity to test his own Hettich products, so as to always be on a level playing field with the joiners who were his customers at the time. But the sales professional fell more and more in love with the idea of doing his own thing: taking the small joinery to new heights as part of a larger whole and living and sharing his visions as a full-service outfitter and boss. Today, every new employee quickly recognizes what fine details make the boss's eyes light up. Nevertheless, everyone has the scope to let their creativity run free—be it in the design phase or on personal after-work projects. You even get a commission if you bring in an order.

In 2017, after four weeks of parental leave, Geppert took the plunge and devoted himself 100% to his joinery. In the past five years, the company has developed into a high-performance, full-service outfitter, with a strong upward trend. So, if you're interested in joining the Geppert team, feel free to get in touch.

Strong Growth Requires Strong Partners

To expand so enormously in such a short time, you need strong partners from the very beginning. That's why Christian Geppert has relied on an external consultant from the start, who acts as the link between the bank and the CEO. For marketing, too, he relies on strong coaches who provide him with constant support. "I already had the successful experience of seeing how much a coach can get out of you during my time at Hettich. I can really only recommend getting support to my colleagues as well," he tells me.

The company uses Trello, among others, as its management software. All orders, including all relevant information, are created here, and every employee can access them from anywhere.

For design, they use Palette CAD. For Geppert, the program's strengths lie not only in its visualization capabilities but above all in its simple and cross-trade planning options. Furthermore, the software specialists from Esslingen have programmed a direct CAM interface to intelligently transfer the created CAD data to the CNC machining centers.

A Smart Workshop, A Seamless Process

Now we come to the joinery's largest technology partner: The entire workshop is decked out in blue. Geppert openly admits to being a fan of the Felder Group. He also enjoys investing constantly in the latest technology to always deliver high quality and work productively. Highlights here include the Format 4 Profit H80 nesting machine, which is controlled directly from the CAD design. Only the nesting process itself is still carried out at the terminal using Felder's F4-Nest software. Afterward, the parts, complete with the appropriate labels, go either directly to the new Tempora F800 edge banding machine or to the Format 4 Profit H350 5-axis machining center for secondary processing.

To underscore how up-to-date the technology is and how important safety is, the second production hall—where only solid wood is processed—houses the new Kappa 550 panel saw with the PCS (Preventive Contact System).

Standing Out with Style is the Concept

Whether it's the entrance area, the design office in a top-equipped office container, or the unconventional showroom on the first floor, which offers views of the joinery's bench and machine room through many large, asymmetrical windows: Nothing here is off the shelf, and everything is designed to stand out with style. This is also evident in their unconventional marketing measures and on social media. For example, several electric Smart cars are parked right in front of the company building, serving as mobile advertising and available for employees to use for a nominal fee.

There's always something happening on their social media accounts. The boss himself takes the community along for the ride, offering direct insights into production and installation, and presenting potential clients with fully installed visions—"made by Geppert Konzept," of course.

Growth Defines the Future

For the boss, it's clear that the company's future means further growth. And even though the current global situation is anything but predictable or plannable, Christian Geppert has a clear idea of how he wants to move the company and its employees forward in the future.

My impression is thoroughly positive: Despite the rapid growth, the boss keeps an eye on everything while giving his crew enough freedom to maneuver.