POWER WRITER

For almost 70 years, the family-run trade journal ElektroWirtschaft has been the mouthpiece of the Federation of German Electrical Wholesalers. As the daughter of the founder and now the journal's editor-in-chief, Gudrun Arnold-Schoenen has experienced a large proportion of that time and has also had her own influence on events. In our interview, she tells us about the changes over time and her view of the industry.

Ms Arnold-Schoenen, how often have you yourself been interviewed during your life?

Not very often. The last time was when we did an interview for the 66th anniversary of ElektroWirtschaft. I was interviewed by my daughter. But most of the time, of course, I'm the one asking the questions.

Arnold-Verlag, which you manage, and ElektroWirtschaft have been familyrun from the very outset. How did the whole thing come about?

It started in 1911 with my grandfather. He was one of 11 children, each of which was given a gold thaler coin by their parents. And my grandfather used his gold thaler coin to open a printing works here in Dortmund- Mengede. He was a trained printer and wanted to set up his own business.

Later he was joined by my father. He was a trained typesetter who had studied business and journalism in Königsberg and then worked as a reporter and war correspondent. When everything was in ruins after the war and my grandfather asked him to come and work here, he built up the printing works again. However, he was also an editor at Handelsblatt and did not want to be dependent solely on printing. So, he founded Arnold-Verlag, which published its own journals. And this resulted in the birth of ElektroWirtschaft in 1955.

And when did you become involved with the business?

That was in 1982 when my father was getting quite old and asked me whether I wanted to return to the family business. At the time I was on the publishing management team at Gruner & Jahr. But when you work in a large business, you're only a small cog in the wheel and it's difficult to make your mark. That is why I decided to come back to Dortmund. Then in 1987 I became the managing partner.

Many readers may not really understand what you do — how would you describe a typical day as an editor?

In one word: hectic! And things get even more critical as the deadline approaches. The date for each edition is fixed. And the deadline by which the editorial team has to submit the edition to the printers shapes my everyday work.

And the content?

First of all, there are the topics we choose ourselves. But we also continuously receive information from press offices at associations, companies and institutions. The editorial team has to manage this flood of information. What do we actually need to publish? What will be published in the journal in what circumstances? And what should we definitely discard? Once a month, we hold an editorial meeting with the German Federation of Electrical Wholesalers (VEG). We also hold internal conferences, and have to plan and conduct interviews and investigate stories. The editorial work is broken up by company visits, press conferences and trade shows. Our editorial plan, in which we define the topics for the next year, is also very much based on what type of events are being held.

As the mouthpiece for the Federation of Electrical Wholesalers, ElektroWirtschaft has a genuinely unique selling point. How does that affect the content?

We concentrate on companies involved in the three-tier distribution chain: manufacturers, wholesalers and customers. We publish only brief information about companies that operate at just two of these levels. Siemens, for example, used to have its own wholesale business in the form of E-Centres. That is why we never published reports about Siemens. It was like a big red rag to us. But fortunately, things have changed. Siemens closed its E-Centres towards the end of the 1990s and attempted to establish links with wholesalers through us. In 2000, we were then able to accept its first advertisements.

What do you think are the main topics in the industry at present?

Energy, electrification and electromobility. And photovoltaics is also making a return. One of the main topics at the moment, of course, is availability. Companies cannot always produce what they want because supplies of electronic components from China are not available. Recently, I was talking to a managing director who told me that they could have actually produced and sold twice their current output. Another major topic is the lack of trained personnel.

And what sort of mood are you detecting when you talk to representatives of the manufacturers?

Actually, the industry is booming. We are in a great position in the electrical industry thanks to all the building that is taking place. We are a successful industry. And everything related to buildings means electrification. The wholesalers are also currently making record sales. The war in Ukraine and the gas embargo are naturally damping expectations and creating a few clouds in our sunny sky. Overall, however, manufacturers are optimistic. The media world has also changed massively due to the Internet.

How has ElektroWirtschaft responded to these changes?

The rule of thumb at ElektroWirtschaft is that times change whilst brands remain. We have a cross-media approach and launched our first website in 1998, which was relatively early for a trade journal. In 2012, we launched our first app and in 2017 we opened an office in Freiburg for digital media. Then in 2018 we also entered the world of social media. At trade shows, we approach companies and produce videos. We produced our first podcast in 2021.

The everyday life of editing has changed a great deal as a result. Previously, we had 12 print publications per year. Today, we have to publish news every day. That has meant that the pace of our work has speeded up quite a bit. Originally, we had a print editor and an online editor. Our printing business was here in Dortmund-Mengede and our digital business in Freiburg. But actually, things are becoming more and more blurred.

What do you consider the greatest challenges to be in your work?

Currently it's something many people are suffering from — a lack of personnel. At the moment, that really is a massive topic for us and the biggest challenge we face. The fact that we can't find enough suitable people. And it's made worse by the continued expansion of online communication, above all the website. We have already had to invest massively in it.

And what gives you the greatest pleasure in your work?

Contact with people. The fact that I have got to know so many people in the industry. The whole electrical industry is like a big family. Everyone knows and respects each other, even if we disagree at times. That's what I have always liked most. And it's also what makes our company different. Personal contact with people.

And when leading personalities from the industry tell you that they've known you since you started out in the publishing business and have a great deal of respect for managing to keep a small publishing house above water today, and congratulate us, that really makes you proud.

Do you sometimes find that business partners tell you things in confidence?

Yes, that certainly happens. But one of the principles of our journal is that we do not use it for sensational ends. If somebody tells us something, we talk about it first. And if the manufacturers or wholesalers don't want us to publish it, we don't. I must admit that sometimes it can be annoying when other people take a different approach and publish anyway. But it's a matter of fairness. That's why many people get in touch with us simply wanting a chat. Or they say, what's going on over there, can you tell me anything about it? For example about companies, if somebody is thinking of changing job. It's simply a matter of trust.

Even though ElektroWirtschaft is more involved with the commercial side of things, how good are your own electrical engineering skills after all these years?

I suppose I can definitely say that I'm always learning. I'm not an engineer, I have to be honest about that. But I think it's important to be able to see how things fit together. You know, the same thing is true of mathematics. The more you engage with the subject, the more you find out and the more interesting it becomes. I particularly like finding out more about lighting. There have been lots of developments in the field and I have become quite interested in it. Apart from that, I see my role in defining the subject areas.

Many thanks for the interesting conversation.