The Last of His Kind: Wolfgang Grupp Readies Trigema for the Next Generation

The Succession at the Heart of Trigema

For 53 years, Wolfgang Grupp has presided over Trigema from a large wooden desk in an open-plan office he shares with his wife, son and daughter. The 80-year-old sole owner and managing director of the German textile manufacturer has no computer, no door and no walls separating him from his staff — a set-up he insists is simply efficient, not trendy. But now, Grupp is engineering the most consequential move of his career: the transfer of his entire shareholding to the next generation.

By the end of 2023, Grupp plans to hand his 100% stake to his wife, Elisabeth. She will then have six months to pass the shares to one of their two children — a two-step route designed to avoid paying inheritance tax twice and, just as important, to prevent the kind of family ownership disputes Grupp has witnessed at other firms. The identity of the chosen heir will be decided by his wife, he says. The succession caps a remarkable run: when Grupp took over in 1969, the company had debts of 5.1 million D-Mark and faced insolvency; today it generates about €115 million in annual revenue, employs over 1,100 people and has not posted a single annual loss.

Grupp’s playbook is famously old-fashioned. Trigema carries no bank debt whatsoever — the last loan was repaid in 1975 — and all machines, no matter how expensive, are written down as fast as possible to build hidden reserves. Production is kept entirely in Germany, which Grupp argues ensures quality and enables next-day delivery for corporate orders that foreign suppliers can’t match. The approach has weathered crises: in 2020, a hospital’s inquiry about cloth masks sparked a pivot that boosted revenue from €104 million to €122.3 million. This year, however, energy costs are set to jump from €1.2 million to as much as €8 million, and rising inflation has forced a modest 3% price increase. Grupp’s biggest worry is a deepening shortage of skilled workers, which the firm is tackling by investing a seven-figure sum in an automatic sewing machine under development.

What Grupp's Exit Means for the Family Business Model

A Succession Engineered for Control

The two-step handover — from Grupp to his wife, then quickly to one child — is a deliberate piece of family governance. By inserting Elisabeth as an intermediate holder, the family avoids triggering inheritance tax at each step, because German law permits a tax-free transfer between spouses after the initial step. Having only one child inherit the shares is a lesson Grupp says he learned from observing bitter feuds at other family firms. The plan also keeps decision-making concentrated: the chosen heir will immediately own the entire company, eliminating sibling rivalries or fragmented control. The risk, however, is that the six-month window leaves little room for a change of heart, and it places enormous pressure on the wife to select the successor wisely.

The Debt-Free Fortress and Its Limits

Trigema’s zero-bank-credit philosophy has created a resilient balance sheet. Rapid depreciation of machinery builds reserves that can offset losses in lean times, a strategy that allowed the company to absorb the pandemic shock without external financing. Yet this extreme conservatism also caps growth. Without any leverage, expansion must be funded solely from retained earnings, which may prove too slow if a major opportunity — or a costly technology upgrade — emerges. Grupp’s satisfaction in never negotiating with a banker is a cultural statement, but it is not a risk-free recipe in a capital-intensive industry where global competitors routinely use cheap credit to scale.

German-Only Production: A Selling Point Under Strain

Keeping 100% of manufacturing inside Germany is Trigema’s signature. It enables rapid restocking, short delivery times and a marketing story of “local quality” that resonates with customers. But in a high-wage country, that exclusivity comes at a price. The jump in energy costs from €1.2 million to an estimated €7–8 million this year shows how vulnerable the model is to domestic policy and geopolitical shocks. Grupp passed on only a 3% price increase, meaning margins are compressing. Unless energy costs fall or productivity leaps, the “Made in Germany” premium may have to grow — or the company will have to find other ways to absorb the squeeze.

Automation as the Answer to Germany’s Demographic Drain

Demographics are the silent threat. Grupp acknowledges that finding enough workers is becoming harder, even though Trigema enjoys above-average reputation as an employer. By investing over €1 million in a developer of an automatic sewing machine, the firm is betting that machines can replace the needleworkers who are increasingly scarce. Grupp is blunt: he would buy any machine that can replace 20 or 40 employees. The automation push is not about cutting staff — indeed, he prides himself on a job guarantee — but about maintaining output as the labour pool shrinks. Success will depend on how quickly that technology matures and how much it costs relative to the labour it saves.

What Other Family Businesses Can Learn from the Trigema Handover

For owners of family businesses facing their own succession, Grupp’s example offers several concrete (and controversial) lessons:

• Use a two-step spouse-to-child transfer to cut inheritance tax. Grupp’s plan exploits a German rule that allows a spousal transfer without immediate tax, then a further transfer to one child within six months to avoid a second tax bill. Consult a tax adviser to see if similar routes exist in your jurisdiction.
• Consolidate ownership in a single heir to prevent conflict. Grupp’s insistence on only one child taking control is a deliberate hedge against family infighting. If you have more than one potential successor, consider buying out non-active siblings early or creating a clear ownership structure with a controlling stake.
• Build a fortress balance sheet — but know its limits. Zero debt and rapid depreciation gave Trigema crisis resilience, but the strategy also limits growth. Evaluate whether your business is in a high-growth phase where a moderate amount of debt could unlock value, or whether the security of pure equity is worth the cost.
• Invest in automation ahead of the labour crunch. Trigema is putting money into an automatic sewing machine years before the worker shortage becomes acute. Map your own operations for tasks that could be automated within three to five years, and start pilot projects now, even if today’s workforce is stable.