After a long and serious illness, Otto Spaleck passed away on the morning of October 5, 2015 at the age of just 64. For nearly 50 years, Otto Spaleck shaped the corporate group of the same name, headquartered in Bocholt.
Otto Spaleck was a thoroughbred entrepreneur straight out of a textbook. After the early death of his father Siegfried, he supported his mother Annemarie from a very young age before officially starting his career as an entrepreneur in the family business in 1974. At the beginning of his career, he concentrated on expanding the business areas of textile machinery, surface technology and flat wire rolling, which he built up from scratch in 1975 and which, at its peak, produced almost 60% of the European demand for spring wires for windshield wipers. He built up and expanded all these divisions to such an extent that by the end of the 1970s they were independently represented worldwide and operating profitably. Otto Spaleck recognized the opportunities of globalization early on and passionately exploited them, as he was a great lover of foreign cultures.
As a pioneer, he developed a profit-sharing scheme for his employees as part of his degree dissertation and also relocated the company from Industriestrasse to Robert-Bosch-Strasse, where the company headquarters are still located today, shortly after joining the company.
Due to changes in the world market for the traditional business after the end of socialism and the increasing globalization of the textile industry, he tackled a complete restructuring of the company in 1997 with unparalleled energy and entrepreneurial courage and built up new business areas with future viability. He was able to successfully complete this reorganization by the time he retired due to illness in 2010, thus laying the foundations for today’s success, which he was still able to take full advantage of. After the fall of socialism, he devoted his particular attention and passion to the reconstruction of the Greiz site in Thuringia, where the SPALECK Group had its origins in 1869, and where a dedicated industrial park was established on Otto-Spaleck-Straße. His mother had already fought for this new start in Greiz for many years.
Otto Spaleck was a visionary and incomparable optimist whose enthusiasm knew no bounds and who was never discouraged by setbacks. Contrary to the general trend of the time, he did not see himself as a patriarch, but always placed the greatest trust in his employees. Through his incredible and self-sacrificing personal commitment, in which he often pushed himself to the limit, he was a constant and universally accepted role model for his employees and partners. His empathetic and understanding nature, his sense of humor and the gift of being able to recognize the mood of his fellow human beings almost blindly gave him another very special personal touch. The well-being of his fellow human beings was always closer to him than his own.
During his career, Otto Spaleck was personally involved in the establishment and expansion of more than 30 companies in 14 countries. His life motto “We’ll just do it now” was the program for many partners and ensured that his great passion, travelling, could be constantly satisfied.
Whenever possible, his wife Maria Luise accompanied him on his travels for many years, later joined by his children. He always endeavored to involve his family in the company, thus shaping a family business that truly deserves its name.
Despite all his pain, his long illness gave him the opportunity to hand over his life’s work into orderly hands, despite his early death. He transferred his shares in the company to his family and inspired and qualified his children to work in the company. In 2008, while he was still active before the outbreak of his illness, he installed a management team, which he recruited from his own ranks, as well as an advisory board to guide the next generation into the company.
In 2011, Otto Spaleck established the Otto Spaleck Foundation for Innovative Technologies, named after him, which, as a sub-endowment of the Westmünsterland University Foundation, is intended to strengthen and support Bocholt as a center of higher education. His life’s work was honored with the 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year award from the city of Bocholt. Throughout his life, he was involved in economic committees and political bodies on a voluntary basis.
The SPALECK Group currently comprises 9 medium-sized companies at 4 locations and employs over 300 people, with annual revenue of approximately €45 million.
Bocholt, October 05, 2015
