Günter Thomas
How did it all start?
»I left home at 16 to make music. Music was my world. I loved the way it used light and effects to add to its emotions. In everything I've ever done, I have always wanted to transcend the ordinary, pedestrian world, to look at things in a different way, and to present them in a new light. I trained as a printer, and I thought to myself: printing must be much more than just putting colour on paper. Paper can be charged with emotion. It can represent everything people love.«
Where do you find your ideas for new solutions?
»The competition never sleeps. You have to stay on top of things, make headway, try out new things, and take risks, where necessary. To do that, you have to walk through life with your eyes wide open, to gather inspiration. Then I sit down with my team to find out how we can put the new ideas into practice. It's important that there is a spark in everything we do, and that we strive for the best. When we look at something, it takes us five minutes to decide. We don't spend a lot of time talking. We just sit down at our computers and say, this is the way we'll do it. Done, dusted. Half an hour, and everything's finished.«
How do GT Trendhouse and GT Produktion tie in with one another?
»Trendhouse is music, setting the scene, experience, a think tank. Produktion is the guitar, with all of its components; knowledge about the composition. One can't work without the other.«
What would your best friend say about you?
»Crazy and dependable. You don't have to conclude a 500-page contract with him. A piece of paper the size of a beer mat will suffice. That's how simple it is.«
Günter Thomas appointed Honorary Senator by German Business Committee
In August 2012, Gelsenkirchen-based entrepreneur Günter Thomas was appointed Honorary Senator by the German Business Committee Wirtschaftskommittee Deutschland, probably the most influential organization representing the interests of German SMEs and family-owned enterprises, to acknowledge Günter Thomas' outstanding achievements in the realms of business, technology and society. As a result, Günter Thomas now belongs to a select group of just 100 entrepreneurs who have been awarded the Senator title.
