Pioneering work by the Data Center Group
The Data Center Group (DCG) is a leading player in the dynamic data center market - throughout Germany and globally. Once a year, all employees from the various locations in Germany (Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich) come to the beautiful Westerwald in the Wallmenroth headquarters to take part in DCG's joint kick-off event. The event, which was attended by over 200 employees, took place last Friday in the Betzdorf town hall and served as a platform for networking as well as to inform and motivate the workforce for the coming year. Past successes were presented, future projects outlined and strategic decisions unveiled in order to meet the challenges of the growing market.
The day began with an inspiring opening speech by the founder and CEO, Ralf Siefen, in which he gave a comprehensive overview of the company's projects and successes from the past year and presented new projects that have already been commissioned or are in the pipeline. Above all, however, Siefen took the opportunity to announce strategic and groundbreaking decisions for the future of the company. Over the past six years, Siefen has gradually sold its shares in the company to its subsidiary MVV Enamic GmbH. This strategic partnership opened doors and gates for DCG to position the company even more strongly and broadly in the market thanks to a shared view of climate-friendly and sustainable management, but also thanks to the financial strength of the shareholder. Three years ago, there was a major project in the three-digit million range. Today, DCG is now implementing up to five projects of this size at the same time. By selling his shares, Ralf Siefen, who built up the company himself, undertook to remain CEO and thus Chairman of the Management Board of the company. This commitment would have expired in mid-2024. Siefen has decided by mutual agreement with the shareholders to continue to manage the company and remain available as CEO for a further few years. "The time has not yet come - I'm still needed and I'm simply still having too much fun," he explained with a wink. The shareholder is also delighted with the news. The Managing Director of MVV Enamic, Dr. Ferdinand Höfer, expressed his thanks for Ralf Siefen's life's work as an entrepreneur. "He is passionate about the company and we are all the more pleased that he wants to continue to take on the challenge," says Höfer.
In addition to Philipp Riemen, the company's CFO, Siefen is bringing further reinforcements to the management team: Markus Böhmer, previously an authorized signatory and Head of Project Business, will join the management team as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in order to strengthen the company's commitment to innovation and growth. "The continued immense increase in digitalization, necessary efficiency measures and new technologies for the operation of IT infrastructures constantly present us with technical challenges. Markus Böhmer knows the market and has been with DCG from the very beginning. He will further strengthen the management team as CTO. We couldn't have found anyone better than him for this position," says Siefen.
The subsequent agenda included a series of presentations that provided insights into various areas of DCG. The Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Philipp Riemen, presented the impressive results of the past year 2023, emphasizing the financial strength of the company and highlighting the ambitious targets set for DCG's new financial year.
As every year, there was once again an external impulse for the entire workforce. Sara Kukovec, an expert in sustainable construction and real estate companies, provided exciting insights from the market and illustrated the requirements of current sustainability certifications. In order to meet the challenges of the new energy efficiency law in the data center industry, there was then a dialogue between the expert and DCG. Possibilities for the company and its customers to adapt to the changing landscape were discussed.
After a refreshing lunch, the colleagues from HR and Marketing presented the new mission statement, which was developed in several workshops with the employees. As "pioneers of the future", the entire workforce wants to use their skills and values to work towards the goal of developing exclusively green data centers.
The afternoon was also filled with the latest information and news from the product portfolio and the areas of sales and project development. A discussion between various key positions from the company on the Energy Efficiency Act rounded off the informative afternoon. The exchange identified challenges and practical solutions for DCG and fostered a common approach to navigating the changing regulatory environment.
At the end, CEO Ralf Siefen summed up the day as another successful milestone for the current financial year and expressed his thanks to the entire team for their commitment. "The Data Center Group is nothing without the people who work here. These successes are only possible thanks to every single person here," emphasized Siefen, acknowledging the invaluable contribution of each employee.
The annual kick-off event not only served as a platform to celebrate past successes, but also as a catalyst for the company's continued, sustainable growth and successful future in the dynamic and forward-looking data center industry.
