Schüco and Golf
Schüco and The European Tour
The European Tour is delighted to welcome Schüco into the Official Supplier family as the Tour’s environmental partner. Environmental and climate protection are becoming more and more important in golf. Schüco, the Bielefeld-based specialist for green building technology, will work with The European Tour to refine the Tour’s environmental plan and improve the sustainability of Tour events, developing templates for greener tournaments to leave a lighter footprint on the planet.
Dirk U. Hindrichs, Schüco’s President and CEO, said: “When we became involved in golf, we introduced the slogan ‘teeing off together on climate protection.’ Our cooperation with The European Tour will provide us with completely new possibilities for reaching the goals we have set ourselves.”
A cornerstone of the cooperation is advising The European Tour on climate protection when new golf courses are built or when tournaments are organised.
George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said: “As sustainable issues become increasingly important for sport and golf in particular, we are delighted to work with Schüco and benefit from their expertise in this area. Schüco are world leaders in green technology and their understanding of golf and the challenges of climate protection will be invaluable to The European Tour.”
The new undertaking is another highpoint in the global footprint of the rapidly growing international company and will make an important contribution towards boosting awareness of the Schüco brand, particularly in international markets.
In its new capacity, Schüco will have an opportunity to present itself in the tented village area at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club – The European Tour’s flagship event. In addition, company representatives will be present at further tournaments on The European Tour International Schedule.
Schüco has been involved in golf since 2008 when Martin Kaymer became the company’s first Brand Ambassador. He has subsequently been joined by Henrik Stenson, Edoardo Molinari, Geoff Ogilvy, Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, Dustin Johnson, Alvaro Quiros, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Gregory Havret, Liang Wen-chong and Bernhard Langer in championing the protection of the blue planet. This first-rate team embraces a goal that is more credible and topical today than every before: protecting the Blue Planet!
A formidable duo
Perfect combinationof nature and technology
Golf is played in harmony with nature and stands for technique, precision, and perfection, values that also
play an important role at Schüco. There are a number of associations between golf and Schüco that we like a lot because we at Schüco also want to combine nature and technology as perfectly as possible with our products and concepts. With our corporate mission Energy3 – saving energy, generating energy, and networking energy, we show that climate protection and economic success can be brought into alignment by using the right technology. The interplay between nature and technology in architecture is part of our strategic orientation, because with our future-oriented building envelopes we are managing to save more and more resources by making them superfl uous in certain areas. If you build a house with Schüco solutions, you can plan it so that it is energy self-suffi cient, i.e. so that it can be decoupled from the network. And the more such energy self-suffi cient buildings there are, the faster Schüco’s vision of conserving the Earth’s natural resources and protecting the blue planet will become reality. Our brand ambassadors can credibly identify with this goal. When they tee off, they know they are championing a good cause.
Brand ambassadors with character
When we choose our brand ambassadors, not only golf-related criteria are decisive. In addition to the sporting aspect and the markets in which we want to position Schüco as a company, the players’ personalities are important. Our players should be internationally known, but they should also be impressive due to their distinctiveness and dependable image. A brand ambassador has to be able to convincingly represent our concerns in public.
World stars on a team
Golf is normally an individual sport. The big exception is the Ryder Cup, where the players play on a team and fight for victory together. It can regularly be observed that this event has a very special spirit and atmosphere. We pick up on this concept somewhat with our team of brand ambassadors. The players should play great golf, but in addition we are trying to create a team spirit. The players like this concept. They feel comfortable on a team together with likeminded brand ambassadors. This was apparent during the entire Schüco Open weekend, not only on the golf course, but also afterwards.
Thanks to Martin Kaymer, golf is becoming more popular in Germany
Martin Kaymer’ ascent to the top echelons of the sport is not only a stroke of luck for Schüco, but also for German golf. In connection with the Schüco Open, it is apparent how much he has boosted the popularity of golf in Germany. His positive aura and friendly demeanor are enhancing the image of golf. Martin is extremely interested in helping further develope in Germany, and particularly in making golf appeal to young people. This is a kind of mission he is pursuing. That goes well with our concept, because we are also interested in making golf appeal to broader segments of the population.
The special attraction of the Schüco Open
In the fi rst place the special attraction of the Schüco Open lies in the enormous quality of the field. In Dusseldorf, we had a world class fi eld ready to tee off that would have been good enough for every big tournament. In addition spectators can experience world class players in a both sporting and relaxing atmosphere. This combination of big sport and entertainment is in my opinion unique for spectators. And the players enjoy this too: If Bubba Watson is going to hit driver on hole #10 in Hubbelrath, he certainly knows the related risk hitting the drive to a narrow fairway. But he loves it that 5.000 people like to watch him taking the risk.
Schüco’s relationship to Martin Kaymer
Schüco has grown continuously in recent years, but are still a classical medium-sized company. It is in the nature of our medium-sized company that many things are approached differently than in large groups of companies – more directly, and often, more personally. When we sign on a player, we never see this as a short-term engagement, but always a long-term one. Martin Kaymer is a perfect example. We believed in him and took him on when it wasn’t apparent yet that he would rise so quickly to the top of the sport. Martin knows that he can rely on us, and over the years the business partnership has developed into a good personal relationship.
Nature & Technology
Green Birdies
For more environmental awareness on the golf course: More than 100 clubs are currently taking part in the German Golf Association’s “Golf and Nature” program – among the clubs that received gold certification are the venue of the 3rd Schüco Open, GC Hubbelrath
Today, more than 610,000 people in Germany play golf on more than 700 courses – and over 100 are participating in the German Golf Assocation’s “Golf and Nature” project. Most of these courses are very large and directly integrated into the countryside, which is one of the fascinating aspects of this game played in harmony with nature. The German Golf Association is making a concerted effort to unite the interests of golf with those of environmental protection. The Golf and Nature program contains practical instructions about how to make the care management of German golf clubs future-oriented. Participating golf clubs have to implement several stages step for step, and they benefit in many respects: from improved playing conditions, from an enhanced image and higher credibility vis-à-vis authorities and the general public, as well as from efficient use of resources
At the same time, with consistent implementation there are lower liability risks for executive boards and CEOs. If a golf club meets at least 15 of Golf and Nature’s 25 basic requirements, it qualifies for the first level of certification. There are three levels: bronze for at least 15 points, silver for at least 20 points, and gold for at least 25 points.
GC Hubblerath, a model golf club and the site of the Schüco Open 2011, fulfilled the stringent criteria for the highest level with flying colors – a compelling reason why Schüco selected the tradition-rich club as this year’s venue.
18 green similarities
Professional golfers have a lot in common with Schüco: perfection and precision down to the last detail as well as efficient usage of energy. Acknowledgment of their down-to-earth origins and their desire to be among the world’s best. But above all fairness and trust as well as enjoyment of what they do every day.
What they all have in common:
1 Trust and fairness are pillars of golf and of the Schüco Network with 5,000 employees and 12,000 partners.
2 A high technical standard is a recipe for success. Both on the golf course and with building envelopes.
3 Golf enhances business relations. After a round of golf with a business partner, you usually know a business partner better than after a few hours in a conference room.
4 Only those who continually improve can keep up with the best in the world.
5 Energy and energy-efficiency not only characterize the play of world-class golfers, but are also a trademark of the best building envelope network.
6 Golf is a passion that connects generations. Schüco’s passion is to safeguard the future of coming generations by means of innovative systems.
7 Both golf and Schüco products combine innovative technology and energy-efficient solutions that are in harmony with nature.
8 The common denominator: striving for further triumphs and technical precision against the backdrop of protecting natural resources.
9 Perfection and precision down to the last detail distinguish a professional golfer from a world-class golfer. And are the difference between a specialist for windows and solar systems and the address for windows and solar systems.
10 Dynamic, resolved action made our Schüco band ambassadors into sports role models. And the Schüco network into a pioneer in energy-efficient climate protection.
11 Golf combines the highest technical standards with a special closeness to nature. Just like innovative Schüco solutions.
12 Both Schüco and our brand ambassadors view obstacles as challenges that drive them to find new solutions.
13 Business success is like playing golf. Setbacks motivate you to keep on improving.
14 Schüco, Martin Kaymer, Henrik Stenson, Geoff Ogilvy, Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, Álvaro Quirós, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Grégory Havret, Edoardo Molinari, and Liang Wenchong – 14 contributions to success.
15 People play golf outdoors. Preferably under the sun, which Schüco technology taps for environmentally friendly power and heat.
16 The gentleman sport golf embodies the same ethical principles as the company Schüco.
17 For centuries, golf has represented an intense experience of nature. Schüco is committed to preserving the Earth for posterity.
18 Golf continues to advance, just as solar energy is the essential component of future energy orientation.
