Success needs courageous decisions.

"Sometimes you have to rip out the heart unsentimentally in order to survive," says Hans G. Beckmann. In 1995, when he joined the company – at that time still trading as Hutschenreuther AG – the firm was a restructuring case. Time of the "White Gold" appeared to be up. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, porcelain manufacturers from Hungary and the Czech Republic flooded the market, closely followed by Asian competitors. The demand for prestigious tableware for use in the private household was in decline and cheap reproductions were congesting the market.

The new CEO changed course, sold the retail sector and shed the raw material quarries. This was a volte-face which brought the top manager heavy headwind. Beckmann assembled a bold management team and committed them to a sweeping, new strategy: the total withdrawal from the consumer business and the complete focus on the market for dining out – which had been a niche activity in the company up to that point.

Within several months, the employees were acquainted with the new business model and modern management systems such as complaint management and continuous improvement process were implemented. Today, the tradition rich manufacturer is a modern B-to-B company. In 1998, the company name was changed to BHS tabletop AG, reflecting the three brands of Bauscher, Hutschenreuther Hotel (nowadays Tafelstern) and Schönwald.

The courage was rewarded. Today, BHS tabletop AG is the world market leader for professional porcelain. "We had the chutzpah to do something in a niche that we were not known in, but for which we had valuable expertise.