In Memory of Jürgen Mayer – A Patron with a Can-Do Attitude

The number seems almost unbelievable: Jürgen Mayer worked at maxon for over 50 years and had a decisive influence on the company. Memorable moments in the company's history fell during his time in office. Under his aegis, the company grew significantly. He died on Tuesday, March 11, at the age of 86. An appreciation. 

It was only supposed to be a short-term engagement when Jürgen Mayer, who was born in Bavaria, took up his position at maxon – the then Interelectric – on February 1, 1967 (and was given the legendary personnel number 007). He himself wrote: "At that time, after my employment at Pilatus Flugzeugwerke and a stay in Egypt, I actually only wanted to stay at Interelectric until I had my work permit for Beirut, Lebanon." The plan: to build a factory for freezing technology together with a colleague. Or as he puts it: "You could have said I wanted to sell refrigerators in the desert."

As a trained mechanical engineer and designer, Jürgen Mayer no longer wanted to stand at the drawing board, that was his declared goal. But when he started working at maxon, he ended up right there again. His task: constructing a pumice machine to process plates for shear blade production. 

At that time, Interelectric still manufactured shaving blades for the razors of Braun GmbH in Frankfurt (Germany). A business that soon threatened to disappear after the sale of Braun to Gillette in 1967. The then staff of only 17 people under the management of Bodo Fütterer had to reinvent itself and entered the production of electric motors with ironless winding. 

The beginning of a remarkable career

This is also where the expertise of the innovative designer Jürgen Mayer came into play. He played a key role in the design of the first maxon DC motor series. The company management at the time quickly recognized that Jürgen Mayer had other talents to show in addition to his design know-how. This was the beginning of a steep career.

In 1970, Jürgen Mayer switched to sales – at that time a "one-man show", as he wrote himself. He was tasked with setting up an international sales organization. In 1974 he was appointed head of the sales department, and in 1985 director of marketing and sales. When Bodo Fütterer retired in 1992, Jürgen Mayer moved up to the management and became its spokesman. In 1996, he became Chairman of the Executive Board, a position he held until 2006. Since 2004, he has also been Chairman of the Board of Directors. In 2006, he relinquished his role as CEO and remained Chairman of the Board of Directors until 2013. In 2017, he celebrated his 50th company anniversary, and in 2019 he was appointed honorary president.

His term of office was marked by enormous growth. When he was promoted to the management board in 1992, sales amounted to 50 million Swiss francs; by 2006, it had increased fivefold to 286 million. During his time as CEO, the workforce grew from just under 500 to 1500 employees worldwide. The company sometimes grew faster than staff could be recruited.

Have a clear mind for innovations

For Jürgen Mayer, it was always clear what the driver of the company had to be: innovation. In a column that appeared in the regional newspaper “Neue Luzerner Zeitung” in 1999, he paraphrased it as follows: "At Interelectric, we attach great importance to providing our employees with the necessary freedom so that they have a clear mind for innovations and changes. In my opinion, the will to change is crucial. If you want to measure yourself against the competition and assert yourself in markets that have become borderless, you have to have this will to change."

To illustrate this, he often used the following story in the company: "When the gazelle wakes up at sunrise in Africa, it knows that it has to run faster than the lion again today, otherwise it will be eaten. And the lion knows that he must run faster than the gazelle, otherwise he will starve. Remember: It doesn't matter whether you're a gazelle or a lion – when the sun rises, you have to run."

He was considered a sometimes strict boss, but he also placed great trust in his employees. In his office, it was not the desk that was the largest piece of furniture, but the meeting table with ten seats – because it was important to him to move forward together.

And then came the Mars landing

Just how innovative the company was became known to the general public practically overnight: In 1997, NASA had the Mars rover "Sojourner" land on the red planet. It had 11 DC motors from maxon on board to drive the vehicle. Motors from Obwalden on Mars? A sensation that made headlines worldwide. 

Journalists from all over the world wanted to know from Jürgen Mayer how a small Obwalden company came onto NASA's radar. The request came in through NASA's contractor, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). That name didn't tell Jürgen Mayer anything at first. They wanted to know whether maxon would be able to build motors that could withstand temperature fluctuations of more than 150 degrees. "Such nonsense," Jürgen Mayer thought at first. But his can-do instinct prevailed: He invited a JPL delegation to Sachseln, showed them around – and maxon was awarded the contract. The rest is history.

The first landing on Mars was celebrated vigorously in Sachseln. And the momentum was wisely used; the fame associated with it was priceless for maxon.

Jürgen Mayer was a patron of the old school: upright, demanding, fair – but also with a knowledge of human nature. maxon’s reputation as an exemplary employer is, in no small part, thanks to him. He led the company passionately and remained connected to it through ups and downs.

Art, music – and a good glass of wine

But the company was not his only passion. He devoted himself to gliding, for example. Art was important to him; he collected it, but also painted watercolors himself. Jürgen Mayer always had a genuine appreciation for a good glass of wine, and he was also very attached to music (but nothing came of the musician career he had aimed for at a young age). And as an enthusiastic grandfather, he devoted himself intensively to his grandchildren. He was also politically active, especially in the field of health care in Obwalden.

His last years were marked by illness. On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, Jürgen Mayer passed away at the age of 86. He is survived by his wife, three children and five grandchildren.

The company owes a lot to Jürgen Mayer. maxon, as it exists today, would be unthinkable without him. His direct, sometimes impatient, but always humorous manner will be remembered fondly. Just like his doer qualities.

This obituary should end with a quote from Jürgen Mayer. When asked by a journalist about the best compliment he had ever received from an employee, he replied: "It's the broad recognition in the company: the employees like me and I like them."