Willo Steen
Standing on a hill gives you a sense of freedom
“I drive for the Vatican, I say, if somebody asks me why I have a ‘V’ on my car number plate,” says Willo Steen with a chuckle.
This reply suits the entrepreneur from Oelsnitz. And the word “entrepreneur” should be taken literally with him: the man is an “enterprising” person. For example, he made a completely new start ten years ago when he was 55. He transferred his home and company headquarters from Erlangen to Oelsnitz. “After all, this is the old textile centre of Germany,” he says, stating the reasons for this move.
Willo Steen is the owner of “Rittergut Steen Design” along with Rolf Schneider. He purchased what was then the run-down site on the B 92 main road in Untermarxgrün in 2006 and refurbished the centuries-old manor house in an impressive manner. It is now an absolute jewel. The ground floor and first floor are company premises, including the factory sales office, and he lives with his partner on the second floor. “The name ‘Rittergut Steen Design” is naturally not bad for marketing purposes,” says the native of Franconia.
He can remember that people in the labour office at that time told him that he would not find any seamstresses. “And 150 of them applied without any prompting,” he says, grinning, and showers enormous praise on his hard-working team of men and women, as they are called in the 2016 catalogue. In all, 16 employees belong to the team of Willo Steen and Rolf Schneider, the designers of the “Steen Design” and “Maison Steen Design” collections. They supply goods by the metre, cushions, made-to-measure items, table linen, plaids, furniture, lampshades and every challenging item in terms of textiles. “There’s no agreement for our women that will lead to S and S goods – i.e. speedy and slipshod. We’re concerned to produce quality and it’s made in Germany,” says Willo Steen, describing the company’s philosophy. Whatever cannot be produced in the Vogtland region and Germany is purchased from European countries; the company seeks partners for production work in the region – for example, the upholstery is manufactured near Chemnitz.
“Rittergut Steen Design” successfully supplies the specialist trade. The company’s boss estimates that the wholesale sector will no longer exist in ten years’ time in the way that it operates today. That is why everything has already been prepared to not only present the collections, which change twice a year, on in-house designed stands at trade fairs, but also on the Internet. “It’s a difficult and tough business,” he admits. The Vogtland company currently exhibits its goods at about ten trade fairs located between Hamburg and Stuttgart every year.
Trade fair customers are particularly the ones who often pose the question about the ‘V’ on his car number plate. After the joke about the Vatican, he explains that the ‘V’ stands for the Vogtland District; he talks about the architecture in Bad Elster, small attractive towns like Auerbach and Greiz, wonderfully restored town houses in Plauen, outstanding culture with excellent theatres as far as Chemnitz and Dresden and naturally about Oelsnitz too. “A great deal has happened here with the square in front of the town hall, schools – and they’ve really done a great job with the castle; the town has become more attractive,” says Steen. He does not make much fuss about the fact that he and his partner have helped design a great deal or provided financial support, especially for children. He prefers to talk about the joint jubilee celebrated recently with the voluntary fire brigade companions in Untermarxgrün, whose building was constructed opposite the manor house ten years ago – probably not without the help of the textile entrepreneur.
And then there are the natural surroundings in the Vogtland region, which remind him of the Steiger Forest between Bamberg and Würzburg where he grew up. If possible, he enjoys the world of nature from his bike. “I don’t have a favourite spot. But I love standing on a hill and looking around – that gives you a sense of freedom. And there are plenty of hills in the Vogtland region with a great view.” Willo Steen’s eyes sparkle once again, as he expresses these sentiments.