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From Thomas Christmann
Stefano Pignatelli has already looked after the first customers from his home country. The Italian has been working at ecu.de, a brand of Glaubitz GmbH & Co KG on Görlitzer Straße in Zittau, since April. And he works in the department that receives the orders for testing and repairing the control units that the company repairs. Every day, he and his more than 20 colleagues answer over 1,000 calls and emails, around a third of which are inquiries from abroad. "The technician always has the last word," says the 43-year-old, who is the youngest member of the team. He speaks German, Italian and English.
The reason for his appointment: the company wants to expand its international services. The name ECU stands for Electronic Control Unit. In German: electronic control unit. Every vehicle has one, from ABS to central locking. Formerly disposable products, the automotive industry is now thinking sustainably. Of the 38,000 or so garages in Germany, 25,000 already regularly send packages of broken control units to Zittau for repair. Orders also come in from Sweden, Denmark, Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France and other countries.
In the meantime, the multiple award-winning Firma The company even manufactures control units in series of 5,000 to 10,000 for various vehicle manufacturers. "We work with manufacturers who think European," says Sales Manager Tobias Hauck. This also applies to his company: Ecu therefore wants to conquer the market in Italy, which is considered the third largest in Europe in economic terms.
In addition to a linguistically adapted website and appearances at trade fairs, such as the upcoming world's largest trade fair for automotive technology in Frankfurt, the new employee Stefano Pignatelli will also help to build up the business. He comes from Udine, learned German at school and trained as a foreign language correspondent. The Italian also completed a degree in law. His goal: to help others. The problem: "There were too many lawyers for too little work," says the 43-year-old, who left his home country during the 2008/2009 financial crisis due to a lack of work and went into sales.
In Austria, Stefano Pignatelli worked for a logistics and multimedia company as well as the highway company. In the meantime, he worked for a consulting company in Regensburg and decided to move to Germany for good in 2015. In Halle, the Italian worked for almost two years for a company that sold household products from China online. The salesman then moved to Bonn to work for a company that produced spare parts for classic cars from England.
"That was a good time," says the 43-year-old, who has liked the style and personality of the old cars since his youth - but was never able to afford one himself. Corona caused the business to collapse. A new management floor and a lack of strategy prompted him to resign in mid-2022. Stefano Pignatelli moved to Hamburg, where he worked for an environmental consulting firm until the end of last year. It then made him redundant. The Italian came across the job at ecu.de through the employment agency. His impression: the company has good products and a service that is in demand. And while the salary remained similar to that in Hamburg, the costs of daily life in Zittau were lower. For example, instead of 790 euros for an eight square meter room in a shared flat, he now pays 309 euros for a 32 square meter apartment. The other advantages: "The city is quiet, the distances are short."
Stefano Pignatelli is now hoping to stay with the electronics specialist. The company is still looking for customer advisors like him, especially for the French market. "We could at least double our business there, but we can't find any staff," says Tobias Hauck. In the IT department, on the other hand, projects have to wait or be outsourced because positions for up to ten programmers are vacant. Electronics technicians and mechatronics engineers can also apply.
"We want to grow healthily," says the sales manager, referring to the annual increase in orders. That's why the company is currently investing in a new building that will on the site of the former Schwarzbach nursery is being built next door. The shell is due to be completed by the end of 2024 - and thus half a year later than planned. This is due to the weather, he explains. The first of the 220 employees will move in in 2025. The building offers testing and inspection stations and also serves as a warehouse. Another photovoltaic system will be installed on the roof. The company already produces a third of its own electricity. A transformer station is already in operation to distribute it between the buildings and connect additional machines. A rainwater retention basin will relieve the sewer system, and another employee parking lot will ease the situation in the residential area. If required, the site also offers space for another hall.
