The four founders of our company met in the Rhine-Main area for their work. Two of the four also have their roots in Hesse: Arnulf Romann and Martin Hug to be exact. Bodo F. Reinecke comes from Westphalia and Detlev Hinse originally comes from Lower Saxony, or, to be exact, from Rotenburg (Wümme). The local dialect is called “Plattdüütsch” and is rather different from the Hessian dialect. In the region of Hannover, Hamburg and Bremen, there has been a second office ever since the founding of efcom. Detlev Hinse has been responsible for several clients and projects over the years while working in the efcom office in Rotenburg. The connection to his home was very important to him and still is to this day. In the beginning, he travelled the almost 500 km distance between Rotenburg and Isenburg every week, later only every two weeks and then every few weeks. Nowadays, he comes by the main office in Neu-Isenburg only every few months.

 

efcom: Mr Hinse, how many kilometres do you think you have been driving throughout the years due to your commute from Lower Saxony to Hesse?

Detlev Hinse: For the first 15 years, I went to Isenburg every week, but later on I went less often. In total, I surely travelled around 50,000 km per year. In terms of figures, I probably made it to the moon and back. It is rather crazy if you think about it!

efcom: How did you end up in the Rhine-Main area at the time?

Detlev Hinse: It was due to my job. Before, I had worked in Munich for a while, so I had been even further in the south. Afterwards, I joined a company in Langen near Frankfurt where I met Arnulf and Bodo which was the basis for the founding of our own company in the year 2000: efcom.

efcom: Did you miss the North German life when travelling to Isenburg or to other client meetings?

Detlev Hinse: We were able to acquire clients from North Germany as early as the beginning of our company so it was obvious that I would be the one in charge of them. As a consequence, I frequently spent time in the north of the country even though later on, we also had projects in the south and in Austria. So I did not really miss the North as I had never actually left.

efcom: The factoring business is pursued in all of Germany and Europe. Were you able to observe differences in how factoring is practiced in the different regions?

Detlev Hinse: I would not say that. The principle of factoring is the same everywhere. But there are in fact some specialisations of companies, for example with which other services factoring is combined. This is often due to economic but also legal reasons. The strength of efcom has always been the ability to easily map all of these complex processes and transactions in our system.

efcom: How often are you in Neu-Isenburg these days?

Detlev Hinse: As I am getting closer to retirement and driving is becoming increasingly more stressful, I try to reduce my on-site visits as far as possible. This means, I am at the main office every few months, so in total three to four times a year. Nevertheless, I have always been in close contact with my colleagues from my base here in Rotenburg.

efcom: What does Rotenburg mean to you? Did you get a different perspective on home due to all the travelling?

Detlev Hinse: I was born in Rotenburg and have always enjoyed the quiet and nature here. I love being at home and that has not changed in the last 20 years.

efcom: Thank you very much for this conversation!