ON THE OCCASION OF HIS CONFIRMATION, the family photo of Dieter Kress with his proud parents Emma and Dr Georg Kress is taken.
Dr Dieter Kress: The born MAPAL boss
Dieter Kress is born in Stuttgart in 1942. Two years later, his parents move to Bopfingen with him and his older sister Marianne to protect them from bombing. On the “Ostalb” the family initially lives in Dieter Kress's mother's house and, after MAPAL is founded in 1950, in Aalen. His brother Peter is born there and Dieter Kress attends the Schubart-Gymnasium, where he choses the science stream.
It becomes clear early on that he will one day join the company. He does not need much convincing. The tech-savvy junior spends a lot of time in the company as a teenager and learns a number of machining techniques from scratch. After joining his father's company in 1969, Dr Dieter Kress, who graduates 1973 with degrees in mechanical engineering and business administration workes his way up to a respected management position. And not just because of his outstanding technical knowledge. His unerring gut instinct, his ability to make quick decisions, his willingness to trust employees to do things, sometimes even expecting from them to do things, his sometimes shirt-sleeved but straightforward management philosophy and his tireless diligence makes him the charismatic embodiment of everything that MAPAL stands for, at the latest after the death of his father and the sole takeover of the management in 1992.
CHARISMATIC WITH A TIRELESS WORK ETHIC
For Dr Dieter Kress, it goes without saying that he works on the mail entry every Saturday and only takes moderate vacations. The same goes for his willingness not to avoid conflicts, but to enjoy them as a clarifying necessity. However, he prefers to do this when others agree with him afterwards - or at least comply with him. The company boss is not a quiet moderator, but an energetic doer. He enjoys and masters being at the centre of attention or on the big stage, making decisions and taking responsibility or inspiring customers for MAPAL. Dr Dieter Kress is an entrepreneur in the truest and most positive sense of the word.
“Planning the future alone is not enough, it must be complemented by a high degree of flexibility and adaptability of the company to rapidly changing conditions.” Dr Dieter Kress
In 1996, Dr Dieter Kress is awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In the laudatory speech, he is aptly described as a “strategist who could not be better imagined”, but also as "the trouper who does not shy away from the trenches" and whose ingenuity and imagination are “inexhaustible”.
After almost half a century at and for MAPAL, Dr Dieter Kress hands over the management of the company to his son Jochen in 2018. He is in poor health but continues to see himself as the “last authority” - just like his father Georg three decades earlier. In 2022, Dr Dieter Kress put his memories on paper, strikingly titled “My life with MAPAL”. When he passed away on 27 December 2023 at the age of 81, Dr Dieter Kress leaves behind a life's work that could not be more impressive.
DR DIETER KRESS WAS A CHARISMATIC YOUNG MAN who spent a lot of time in his father's company.
IN 2002, MAPAL do Brasil surprised Dr Dieter Kress with a bicycle as a gift for his 60th birthday. The managing director did not want to miss out on a spontaneous test ride.
AS A TALENTED COMMUNICATOR AND NETWORKER, Dr Dieter Kress is in constant dialogue with his executive staff. Here he is seen in a personal conversation with employees in 1983.
FOR DECADES, MAPAL HAS BEEN REPRESENTED BY DR DIETER KRESS – IN FACT, HE IS MAPAL. He is a member, and in some cases the chair, of several professional associations and has received numerous awards.
DR DIETER KRESS led MAPAL for more than four decades.
FOR DECADES, MAPAL has been Dieter Kress – and he has been MAPAL.