News from Liebert

You have been one of the "People of Lieberty" for 14 years and have played a key role in shaping the success story of LIEBERT. Looking back, how did your journey with our founder Thomas Liebert begin?
I had reached a point in my career where I was looking for a new challenge. As a project manager in a small engineering office, I lacked the opportunities and perspectives to plan and realise visionary concepts. After an internet search, I came across the LIEBERT website, which even then emphasised the sustainable use of the elements. I really liked this approach. My application to LIEBERT immediately led to a job interview. However, there was no branch in Berlin at the time, only in Hüfingen in southern Germany. And so I got to know Thomas Liebert at an Italian restaurant on Ku'damm, where the interview also took place. To this day, I'm probably the only person to have had a job interview in a restaurant (laughs). A second interview soon followed, in which we discussed the induction programme in Hüfingen and I was also shown the prospects of a new branch in Berlin. Thomas Liebert said to me at the time "You'll be the first in Berlin and you can stay there if you do it well". The decision to set up a branch in Berlin was the big vision at the time. And I found this perspective extremely interesting.

How has the branch in Berlin developed since it was founded and what strategic steps do you think have led to today's success?
I started in 2010 in a simple construction container and with loyal project partners who are still with us today. Looking back, I can say that they were crucial to our good start in Berlin.Thanks to the many successfully realised projects, we have been able to grow over the years and steadily expand our Berlin team.Our project partners appreciate the high quality that drives and connects us.This is exactly what has driven us forward and will continue to do so.Just one year later, we moved into our first office in Kantstrasse on the seventh floor with 300 square metres of rental space and a roof terrace.But after just a few years, the space was no longer sufficient and we expanded to another floor.With a team of around 30 employees, we then started looking for a new location in mid-2019, as our lease was cancelled due to our own requirements.We found what we were looking for at Hohenzollerndamm, where we took the opportunity to fit out and design our working environment according to our ideas, structures, premises and equipment.The spatial concepts developed at that time led to our closed team structures, which we still maintain at all locations today. Today, Berlin is the largest of the four LIEBERT locations. Last year, we expanded our office space in Berlin once again. More than 55 TGA experts currently work in around 1,100 square metres of space.

Is there a key moment or a special project that has characterised your professional development?
A very formative moment that still runs like a red thread through my professional career was in my youth. I was 16 years old at the time and regularly helped out in my parents' heating company. My father had the job of planning and installing the building installations for the construction of a new detached house. This also included plans for the fitters. With new CAD software, a large orange-coloured manual, my father's expertise and my technical understanding, we drew up calculations and plans for fitters for the first time. A year later, I was standing in the house ready to move into and was impressed to see that what we had thought about and planned had been realised and was working.The family still lives in the house today and is still happy (laughs).Up until that point, my parents had planned for me to take over my father's heating business one day.But at that moment, I decided that I would much rather be involved in technical planning.My further career as an engineer was particularly characterised by the Charité project, Europe's largest university hospital, in 2012.The high-rise ward block with a new operating theatre/ITS building with 15 operating theatres was my first major project as the responsible project manager.I was involved right from the start, from the initial concept to the structural realisation.And I still remember well that this time gave me a lot of pain due to the huge responsibility.
But I could always rely on Thomas Liebert and Patrick Merkt. They stood by my side even at critical moments and together we mastered this Herculean task. The Charité was and still is a flagship project that is right at the top of our Berlin office's banner. We can continue to build on this, especially with our current hospital projects.

And what characterises you as a person outside of work? What attracts you in your everyday life and makes you forget the project work for a moment?
Always my family, that's for sure!My family and my friends are my two pillars.But I have to say that our regular company events also make me forget about everyday work.It's the personal intersections between family and LIEBERT that give me great pleasure.My son now takes part in our annual kart race himself and the family attends the training sessions.For me, these events are a hybrid that combines family and work.

Would you say that your hobbies also influence your thinking, your approach to project work?
That's easy to answer: We want to be the best! That's quite clear. Whether I'm doing sport in my free time or at work, I put my heart and soul into both. There are no half measures, my goal is always 1st place.

How has the TGA sector developed in recent years? Where will the market be heading in the future?
Let's start by looking back a few years at the development of the building services sector. With the first Energy Saving Ordinance in 2002 and the subsequent amendments and tightening of regulations, the most important trend was foreseeable early on: Saving energy and conserving resources. And this is exactly how the market has developed. Today, MEP is playing an increasingly important role in construction projects. In the past, it accounted for around 30 per cent of construction costs; today, in some highly installed areas, it accounts for over 50 per cent.
In the future, the focus will shift towards primary energy savings, self-sufficiency and CO₂ neutrality in buildings. The technical components, construction and operation of systems will change, as will user behaviour. 
I would like to see a holistic approach to energy in order to conserve all resources and utilise them sustainably.Water as a resource has been severely neglected to date.We can and must raise awareness of the fact that our precious drinking water is a finite and vital resource that we need to use more responsibly.

Mr Ballmer, you have had an impressive career path at LIEBERT, from specialist planner to project and branch manager to managing director and co-partner. What advice would you give to young professionals?
At this point, I'll save myself the typical phrases. I can only advise everyone to find their passion and be good at what they do. Success always has something to do with passion, it drives people to develop and take on challenges. That is the key to success.