Erich Wunderlich.
Wunderlich. The brand. Philosophy and attitude.

 

Erich Wunderlich is the specialist in high-quality BMW motorcycle accessories. That wasn’t always the case, however. Erich Wunderlich was born in Brazil in 1963 and came to Germany at the age of five. In 1985, he began his success story with the technical improvement of the Yamaha SR and XT 500 motorcycles, which were very successful in their day. Working in his garage at home, he developed an optimisation for the valve operation oil supply of the Yamaha single-cylinder engines that were produced in huge quantities. He soon offered this as a standard pre-assembled installation kit, thus laying the foundations for Erich Wunderlich’s commercial success, who completed his business administration course at the same time.

Erich Wunderlich is the specialist in high-quality BMW motorcycle accessories. That wasn’t always the case, however. Erich Wunderlich was born in Brazil in 1963 and came to Germany at the age of five. In 1985, he began his success story with the technical improvement of the Yamaha SR and XT 500 motorcycles, which were very successful in their day. Working in his garage at home, he developed an optimisation for the valve operation oil supply of the Yamaha single-cylinder engines that were produced in huge quantities. He soon offered this as a standard pre-assembled installation kit, thus laying the foundations for Erich Wunderlich’s commercial success, who completed his business administration course at the same time.

With the arrival of the BMW R 100 GS, which largely replaced the XT 500 as the travel Enduro in Germany, he fundamentally refocused his company between 1989 and 1994. Since then, Wunderlich GmbH has been developing and producing exclusively high-quality BMW motorcycle accessories. The internationally focused, renowned, medium-sized business of today has constantly grown; the first catalog contained 8 pages with just short of a hundred listed products. Today, the continuously growing product portfolio comprises over 3,800 components, which we present in five catalogs on almost 2,500 pages. The company employs more than 95 employees and trains young people in various departments.

Alongside Erich Wunderlich as Managing Director, Frank Hoffmann has been helping to steer the fate of the business as second managing director since 2014. The company founder’s successor, however, will be Felix Wunderlich, son of Erich Wunderlich, who is already optimally integrated into the company as an attorney and head of product management and development.

Erich Wunderlich: »In our company, all departments from development and product management through purchasing, materials management, production, quality, sales, customer service, logistics, marketing all the way to the store, are networked with short pathways. The principle of short pathways has more than proven itself. Our organisational structure is thus streamlined and efficient. Our employees are another success factor, who share the passion and pleasure for riding motorcycles with our demanding customers practically without exception so that they are characterised by a high level of identification with the company and our own products. Our customers feel this and this creates trust.«

»The passion, commitment and happiness of our employees is an eminently critical factor for the company and one reason to train young people up in our various departments!«, adds Frank Hoffmann. »More than this, we also support internships and bachelors' as well as masters' degrees.«

»Our success is based on our technological innovativeness, our creativity, our quality standard, on our customer focus and on our international outlook. It also reflects our stance of being and remaining grounded. We value sustainability over making a quick euro. We believe in the value of what we do and in what we produce. The satisfied long-term customer is more important to us than quick turnover«, adds Erich Wunderlich. »Wunderlich is growing at a faster than average rate and we are in the phase in which we are strategically expanding our commitment on an international level. However, aside from the economic success – or better yet, alongside it – Wunderlich has matured into a brand that enjoys major international renown.«

Frank Hoffmann continues, adding: »As a consequence of the international focus of our activities, we have often been faced with the question: »What are you actually about?« Within the company, we have long since taken an organically developed approach of silence as regards our products, quality and not least, our customers. It describes the core of our brand, our philosophy and our approach. The values that drive us are characterised from the start by our focus on BMW motorcycles and the considerable expertise we have developed in them. The basis for our innovative high-quality Wunderlich components is thus on the specific expertise we have honed over the years. Expertise that we have continuously developed and that goes into every one of our products«, says Frank Hoffmann. »Our motto of 'Anständige Komponenten für Ihre BMW.' brings together our craftsman-led production, our concept of quality and our responsibility for sustainability, the three key pillars that guide us. In this regard, I can say for our part that we have been paying increasing attention to our responsibility towards people and nature in addition to our claim to technological innovation for the last two years with our 'Wunderlich BLAU' initiative. This commitment can be energy and resource reduction measures, more efficient manufacturing and logistics processes, but could also be social commitment. All of this describes the Wunderlich brand.«

Wunderlich GmbH

 

  • Founded in 1985 by Erich Wunderlich
  • Concentrating since 1993/94 on the development of high-quality components solely for BMW motorcycles
  • 2004 Wunderlich moves into company headquarters in Sinzig
  • 2019 Relocation to the Innovationspark Rheinland in Grafschaft-Ringen
  • Divisions
    • Wunderlich
    • BOXER-SPIRIT
    • Wunderlich MOTORSPORT
    Over 95 highly qualified employees3,800 products and components25,000 stock items

The Wunderlich corporate headquarters

  • 5,000 m2 floor area
  • Innovative, sustainable building technology
  • In 2020, the second stage of the expansion of the photovoltaic system to 1,300 m2 took place
  • Architectural feature: the self-supporting, cubic administrative wing

As an international brand, we are expressly open to new things. That's why pleasure in innovation is also expressed in the architecture of our company headquarters in the Innovationspark Rheinland and is reflected in the building's technical design. The »Flying Wunderlich Performance Scrambler« indicated this already as the highlight during the laying of the foundation stone. Today it can be admired as an eye-catcher under glass in the entrance of the spacious exhibition hall.

 

Felix Wunderlich, attorney and head of product management and development at Wunderlich: »We wanted to approach the task with the same kind of standards and benchmarks that we also set for our products and components. The intention was for the buildings to embody our understanding of quality, functionality, design and innovation. I think we managed just that. Our photovoltaic system, for example, produce three to four times as much power as we need ourselves. The surplus energy is fed into the grid. Our heating systems are each designed for the specific use of the spec, with surface area heating systems in the ceiling or floor. We utilise an ultra-modern and efficient heat pump system so that our company headquarters with its elaborate heat insulation system fulfils the requirements of KfW standard 55 and is thus designed to be highly energy-efficient. We have given a name to our initiative for sustainability and environmental protection at Wunderlich:

Wunderlich BLAU. It stands for our sensitivity, for our responsibility to people and nature. It guides us in the development of products and was also the foundation of our plans for our new company headquarters. This also fits with the fact that, wherever we found it possible, we drew on the expertise of local craft businesses.«

 

Thus, the prerequisites for future innovations and the further growth of Wunderlich GmbH have been created.