Press Release: Two Clever Entrepreneurs Help Their Hometown Villingen-Schwenningen

Eric Voigt and Markus Winter are specialists in supply chain management for Asia. This has resulted in them being able to reliably supply buyers with protective masks from China in this difficult time. By Ralf Trautwein 

Mayor Jürgen Roth has been hoping for nothing more than a large delivery of 400,000 protective masks from China for the city of VS. These are mainly manufactured in China for the world market and are in great demand worldwide due to the corona crisis. However, politicians are in some cases being back handed when trying to acquire masks and other protective equipment. German government officials say that US representatives in China are said to have tried to transfer protective equipment, including masks, to the United States with large sums of money. There are similar allegations in France. 

Reliable Contact Network in Asia 

Although medical protective equipment manufacturers are producing around the clock, demand continues to significantly outstrip supply. The fact that the first 10,000 masks arrived in VS this week and were not taken by the Americans is important for the people in the city. This is ultimately thanks to two entrepreneurs who have roots here and also have a strong contact network in Asia. “Via their own networks,” the city wrote in a media release, “the acquisition of masks could be arranged”. This is true as ultimately; nothing would have happened without Eric Voigt (49) and Markus Winter (50). Voigt studied international business administration at the Schwenningen Faculty of Economics at Furtwangen University (HFU), around the same time as Winter studied Product Engineering there (today known as industrial engineering). The two have worked in global companies for years. Eric Voigt has been responsible for 20 years in the expansion and restructuring of international companies and private equity funds in Asia and Europe. He is a specialist in Asian business and knows: “In times like these, it is particularly important to have reliable technical knowledge and qualified supply chains in a globalized world.” 

Clinic staff in particular are dependent on FFP protective masks. The abbreviation FFP stands for “Filtering Face Piece”, that is, “filtering breath connection.” These two entrepreneurs made it possible for the city to obtain the masks that are currently so difficult to obtain to a good quality.  Eric Voigt (left) and Markus Winter from the consulting company OnePointZero. Voigt, who studied at the HFU campus in Schwenningen, operates this globally active innovative company in Hong Kong. 

“Qualified supply chains are important in a globalized world.” 

Voigt and Winter earn their bread and butter by advising German and international companies on strategic procurement management, which is also known as “global sourcing”. The importance of has been highlighted during the current corona crisis. Many German companies who have their products manufactured in Asia suddenly recognize how fragile the otherwise smooth procurement processes are. This is where Voigt, whose mother still lives in Villingen, started: With his design and engineering company “OnePointZero“, he has built up close connections with first-class production sites around the world. His business is to make these contacts available to companies in Germany where he is supported by his old school friend Markus Winter, whose wife Sandra also studied with Voigt in Schwenningen. 

Operates on a Global Scale 

Graduate Eric Voigt shows how trend-setting the course was in International Business (IBW) 20 years ago. Although his company is based in Berlin and Hong Kong, he works worldwide with teams in Shenzhen, China, Hong Kong, Berlin, London, Zurich, Dublin, Paris and Villingen-Schwenningen. Eric is currently located here, because in these times of crisis, there are no planes goes to Asia. He would have loved to have gone back as both he and his 40 employees in Hong Kong have their hands full. The city government of the former British crown colony relies on this man from VS, who’s first orders were back in January, to supply first-class medical protection products to Hong Kong from Chinese manufacturers. The fact that even Hong Kong (neighbours with China) were going through “OnePoint Zero” gives an idea of ​​how good Voigt’s contacts are. Voigt, like many others, is currently not interested in making a quick buck on protective masks. He and Markus recognized early on what would happen to the pandemic at Villingen-Schwenningen and that their help would be needed. Markus Winter makes it clear that first-class goods from China that meet European quality requirements are not easy to obtain, even outside of the crisis. Only about two percent of manufacturers, he says, are able to meet local standards. This also applies to the masks which “OnePointZero” employees in China strictly control and which are now being sent to the city in regular deliveries. Here they will go to the clinic in large numbers, to old people’s homes and mobile care services in Villingen-Schwenningen, as well as to employees of the city administration.