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steep – a successful, multifaceted company

Founded in 1961 as ELEKLUFT GmbH with seven employees, steep GmbH ranks today as a successful global player employing about 800 and represented at over 30 locations in Germany and Europe. “steep” was meant originally to describe the contents of the services portfolio, where “s” stood for “service”, “t” for “training”, “e” for “engineering”, “e” for “energy” and “p” for “products”. Since then, the steep portfolio has undergone major change and expansion, but a reason to change the “good name” never really arose.

Besides the principal services listed below, steep can present in addition yet another wide field of characterizing expertise: When our business units Logistics and Technical Documentation, Material Management, EMC Services, Managed Services in Partnership and Facility Management combine, our customers can benefit from the unique opportunity of receiving a holistic, single-source solution in the form of a harmonized body of separate services.

Our strength lies in our project line, when we analyse all requirements, assume all relevant assignments and realize in close collaboration the ideal custom solution. We are evolving continuously in line with the market and upgrade and realign our expertise to the needs of our customers. Our independence from manufacturers promotes the freedom we need to choose the ideal partners for each and every one of our projects.

We are very proud of the trust our customers have been placing in our business units for decades. We spare no effort in cultivating this trust and aligning ourselves as collaboration partners in all areas.

Founding date

The first page of the steep success story was commenced on 19 July 1961, under the name ELEKLUFT GmbH. The initial years focused on the installation, integration and support services for various radar systems, with priority given to public awarding bodies.

Portfolio expanded

The 1970s witnessed an expansion and consolidation of ELEKLUFT activities in the training, documentation and software development fields for military and civil principals. Other business activities during this phase dealt with maintenance methods and communication systems.

Large-scale systems and new branch offices

From 1981 to 1990, the portfolio adopted an extensive range of activities for planning, setting up, servicing and repairing large-scale electronic ground systems in military and civilian environments. As in the founding days, radar system services continued in the company’s core line. The work in this field was joined in addition by initial activities in radar surveying. Also orders from the aerospace sector were now being accepted. The further development of the ELEKLUFT training measures was boosted by the construction of diverse training centres in Germany. Now the first major documentation orders were received from renowned German carmakers. This period witnessed the emergence of new business fields, e.g. in the set-up and operation of a debugging centre for the army’s electronic equipment. The 1980s also saw the company open branch offices in Königsbrunn and Porz (Cologne).

Expansion

The early 1990s recorded the founding of the subsidiaries ESDAS (Elektronik Sistemler Destek AS) in Ankara (focusing on maintenance, repair and support services for the Turkish air force’s radar stations) and BetaTech (focusing on telecommunications). The 1990s were also marked by the emergence of new locations, e.g. in Nabern and Schrobenhausen and the SCU service centre in Ulm. The facility management unit continued its development.

Renamed to Serco

In 1999 the British company Serco plc bought ELEKLUFT GmbH and renamed it Serco GmbH. The services portfolio developed up to this date was adopted unchanged.

The business unit Training took over the running of training centres for customers from the automotive industry. It also developed and realized training programmes. Training services were provided in India and China as well, and the training order was received for IT centres of excellence (KIT). The responsibility was assumed e.g. for services in the installation and support of data processing systems, for the multinational organization OCCAR and for the general management of the army’s combat training centre GÜZ. On commissioning the accredited EMC centres in Bonn and Ottobrunn, the company became firmly established in the segment of electromagnetic compatibility. In parallel with its core expertise in the services sector, a new company line evolved that outlined, manufactured and integrated needs-based products in the end-to-end solution model.

Renamed to steep

2012: management buy-out and birth of steep GmbH

On 30 June 2012, Serco GmbH was bought from the British holder by Managing Director Matthias Möseler and has been independent of the Group ever since. It was at this time that the company received its new name: steep GmbH. In addition to the head office in Bonn, there were now more than 30 other locations in Germany and Europe employing about 700.

1 July 2016: changes in management

Following Matthias Möseler’s withdrawal from active business, Peter Pützfeld assumed on 1 July 2016 the sole position of managing director of steep GmbH.

1 January 2019: Karsten Schwind was appointed second managing director of steep GmbH.

Our guiding principles: reflections on our responsibility as a company

Our company’s guiding principles present a clear statement on how our convictions and views influence our actions. At the same time, they prioritize the needs of our customers, employees and partners in equal measure – and always targeting mutual success.

Our principles and our corporate policy are put to the test at regular intervals, affecting both their contents and their implementation. In this manner we make sure that they find expression in the corporate culture practised and experienced in our everyday work.

  • We operate on the national and international levels and follow our customers wherever they need us.
  • We practise and experience corporate flexibility promoted by flat hierarchies, short decision-making paths and our independence from manufacturers.
  • We attach great importance to long-term partnerships and a trusting relationship with suppliers and customers.
  • Our success is fuelled by the wide-ranging expertise embodied by our employees.
  • Our open corporate culture serves to motivate our employees and promote their creativity.
  • We listen to our employees and create attractive workplace environments tailored to their specific needs.
  • We want to share the success with our customers.

The performance of steep GmbH is a result of the quality of its products and services. Customers all over the world are raising their expectations of quality, and the outcome is a need for continuous quality improvement and maximized efficiency in the affected activities.

The steep quality management system fulfils the international requirements under NATO standard AQAP 2110/2210 and the industrial requirements under DIN EN ISO 9001:2015, DIN EN ISO/IEC 27001:2017 and DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025.

Accordingly, our company maintains a quality management system aligned to planning and realizing services and products that fulfil unconditionally the demands and expectations of our customers and that permit as economically as possible their implementation and manufacture respectively.

The system’s maintenance is confirmed in the form of annual monitoring audits and of recertification audits conducted at intervals of three or five years by independent accreditation bodies. steep is therefore a company that has verified a process-oriented procedure and its documentation of the services it provides and the products it manufactures.

Occupational safety and health, environmental protection and the effective utilization of energy are elementary constituents of the corporate objectives at steep GmbH. A safe, healthy working environment is being created throughout the company for our employees, customers and the public.

At the same time, we are committed to adhere to the following strategies and measures:

  • Implementation of the internal safety concept inside the company
  • Definition of purviews and distribution of assignments with respect to OSH and environmental protection
  • Reduction of all health and safety risks to a feasible minimum
  • Continual initial and further OSH training for our personnel
  • Adherence to the legal OSH provisions

steep GmbH is implementing throughout the company a comprehensive internal safety concept mirroring the pertinent safety requirements, legislation, regulations and guidelines on health and safety, environmental, fire and radiation protection and hazardous goods.

For the purpose of implementing this safety concept, the management board appointed persons responsible for applying the internal requirements in the OSH, environmental and energy policy. To this end, they are provided with all of the information and resources they need to verify adherence to the rules.

In order to safeguard the continuous observance and improvement of the implemented OSH, environmental protection, fire protection and safety systems, inspections and updates are performed across all locations at regular intervals.

One of our principal assignments is to analyse continuously all production steps and products for risks to employees, to verify these steps’ and products’ environmental compatibility and, whenever necessary, to implement countermeasures serving to prevent accidents and harm to health and to minimize the environmental impact of our activities within the general technical and economic framework. steep GmbH pledges to observe all legal and official requests and the pertinent regulations on OSH and environmental protection and to protect and promote the health and safety of employees.

By means of an open information policy, regular training programmes, inspections and instruction sessions, we intend to practise and experience a responsible safety policy within the company. To this end, we maintain an open dialogue with the competent authorities.

For most people, their health is the most valuable thing they possess, and an intact environment is inseparable from the quality of life. Consequently, there must be protection of our employees and a minimized impact on the environment if our company is to perform and profit.

With a view to safeguarding these elementary principles, we make every effort to improve our products and services on a continuous basis, to protect the environment and health of our employees and to maintain the safety of our resources and installations.

These measures include specifically …

  • protecting our employees and customers against health risks as set down in environmental regulations and legislation, so far as we are able to safeguard this,
  • advising our customers on the relevant environmental impact of procurement and disposal costs and schedules,
  • raising our employees’ awareness when they handle substances harmful to the environment, and
  • obliging our suppliers to observe the environmental protection guidelines and legislation.

It is moreover our duty to avoid detrimental environmental impact and to ensure the safety of plant. As a measure to eliminate malfunctions, our installations are planned according to the state of the art in safety engineering, sited and assembled by experts and operated by qualified personnel.

By evaluating and improving systematically our energy efficiency, we also set ourselves the task of reducing continuously our company’s specific energy consumption over the long term.

We fulfil the provisions of all OSH laws passed in Germany and Europe. We follow the generally accepted codes of practice. To this effect, our many years of experience and our OSH instructions and manuals have given rise to effective processes that are applied for the protection of all employees worldwide.

Our safety statistics are updated constantly on both national and international levels. These data are collected from the accident reports and evaluated at a central location. This makes use of a comprehensive reporting system that also informs the board at monthly intervals.

Participations

Our subsidiary BetaTech is the competent service partner for all communication technology issues. The BetaTech portfolio encompasses the set-up of radio networks, the installation of radio relay systems and the planning and realization of complete copper-based and optic networks.

In addition to many small and medium-sized enterprises, BetaTech customers also include T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 (Germany), Nokia and debis Systemhaus.

Locations

Contact persons

Peter Pützfeld

Telephone: +49 228 6681 232

E-Mail: gf@steep.de

Managing Director

Karsten Schwind

Telephone: +49 228 6681 232

E-Mail: gf@steep.de

Managing Director

Gabriele Schröder

Telephone: +49 228 6681 232

E-Mail: Gabriele.Schroeder@steep.de

Assistance to the Managing Director

Franz Tümler

Telephone: +49 228 6681 558

E-Mail: Franz.Tuemler@steep.de

Head of Business Unit System Integration & IT

Tilo Schneider

Telephone: +49 176 16681 516

E-Mail: Tilo.Schneider@steep.de

Head of Business Unit Training

Gabriele Schächer

Telephone: +49 228 6681 165

E-Mail: Gabriele.Schaecher@steep.de

Head of Business Unit Managed Services in Partnership

Robert Mayer

Telephone: +49 731 933 1261

E-Mail: Robert.Mayer@steep.de

Head of Business Unit Facility Management

Ralf T. Krüger

Telephone: +49 228 6681 533

E-Mail: Ralf.Krueger@steep.de

Head of Marketing & Communication

Ludwig Nothofer

Telephone: +49 228 6681 430

E-Mail: ludwig.nothofer@steep.de

Head of Quality Management

Ulrico Polic

Telephone: +49 228 6681 340

E-Mail: ulrico.polic@steep.de

Chief Financial Officer