MEMMIMGEN, Germany — Petra Götte has left JAB/Gardisette as product development manager after more than 20 years in order to take a new position at Heco, an up and coming cut length wholesaler.

Götte started her professional education at JAB In 1988 beginning with the sales department, with her main focus on customer consulting for interior decoration. 

“Alongside I made experiences in sewing and upholstery to be able to understand our customers and their needs,” she told F&FI. “Since 1994 I have been a member of the developing team of JAB, changed the work because of the taking over of Gardisette and have been responsible for the product development since 2005. I love my work, but I had the feeling, that I needed a new challenge,” she added.

At Heco, Götte is responsible to develop the cut length collection in consultation with Burkhard Koop, the business manager, “and all things around like foto production and advertising; as well leading for the piecewise collection with the intention to build it up and give a special handwriting to it by working conceptual,” she said. Petra Götte joins HECO

It is a mixture of my own design and new developments of our suppliers, always in cooperation with their possibilities and ideas. The collaboration makes the difference and it is still exciting to follow the development of a simple idea and what could occur out of it. The company is open-minded for all new things and ideas, to discuss and balance everything, but also to try some things spontaneously, anxious to improve internal operational sequences as well as service and proposals for our customers. Götte said “that is really inspiring and motivating!”   

“It always sounds a bit like a phrase, but that’s the fact. After such a long time the operational sequences are always the same, even with a new collection; even textile never is the same and there are always more surprising happenings in production, from which I like to abstain, but I wanted more: more responsibility, differentiated and diverse functions, the chance to try new things and a free way of working. This is difficult in such a big company as JAB, so HECO is completely different.” 

The roots of HECO-Textilverlag have been in the selling of pieces for more than 60 years ago. About 12 years ago it changed completely to a cut length wholesaler with particular design ideas, Götte said.

Heco is based in the Allgäu, next to the Alpes and the Italian border, so it was established in the south of Germany.  

Heco has two sales manager and 17 people for the external work in Germany. Heco is  trying to build up more exports, as in the meantime the collection has a wide spectrum of qualities and designs, from mid price range with the typical easy care attributes up to high class items with special technical textile effects and charm, Götte confirmed. 

There are more than 700 actual articles in the Heco collection with an emphasis on plain fabrics with huge color ranges. “Our philosophy is service! We set value in very short delivery times and in good personal customer care, as we think especially in a hectic time, the humanity is important.  F&FI