• Company presents itself to budding talents in a panel discussion under the motto 'Pioneering Smart Living'

• Focus on digitalisation, sustainability and smart product development

Miele is to present itself to young entrepreneurs and creative minds at Europe's biggest start-up fair from September 25-27. Experts from the company will present their topics ranging from future scenarios and disruptive business models through to the use of artificial intelligence in products in informal discussions. Dr. Markus Miele, Executive Director and Co-Proprietor of the Gütersloh-based domestic appliance company, kicked off panel discussions with a keynote address entitled 'Digitalisation and Sustainability at Miele – our Change is your Chance'. Further highlights at the show at which some 5000 guests are anticipated: Keynote speeches by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Germany's Business Secretary Robert Habeck.

All that is still 'old school' at Miele is its unerring quality claim to the best and most durable domestic appliances. Only recently, the company furnished proof that these have long been connected, use artificial intelligence to assist in food preparation and can be integrated into a smart energy management system in a bid to reduce CO2 emissions at the IFA electronics show.

In a three-hour panel discussion, the so-called Vertical (September 26, 13.30 to 16.30 h), Miele will take a deeper dive. Experts from the company will present how scenario techniques, customer feedback, data evaluation and worldwide startup scouting are used to develop new smart applications, services and business models. Insights will also be provided into business fields outside the company's core area, which Miele has grouped together in its New Growth Factory. One such example is the takeover of Otto Wilde Grillers.

The company is driving its fast-paced transition from a traditional domestic appliance manufacturer to a high-tech company acting on the world stage in a variety of different ways. Agile methods and design thinking promotes creativity and makes the inconceivable become reality, as evidenced by the disruptive Upgreat business model: With this new service, Miele is providing a response to the needs of customers who would rather rent an appliance than buy one outright as it better suits their individual situations in life.

Digitalisation always goes hand in hand with sustainability at Miele, never alone. In his keynote address, Markus Miele will lay out why the success of the company is inseparable from a credible sustainability strategy, and why digitalisation in the various product fields is an indispensable enabler in promoting sustainability.

The company's own exhibition stand provides a contact point for entrepreneurs and young talents to discover career options at Miele. Peter Hübinger, responsible for Miele's Smart Home division, and Curt Simon Harlinghausen, responsible for Miele X in Amsterdam, will be Table Captains at the traditional visit of Bits & Pretzels to the Oktoberfest, planned for September 27. More information on Europe's largest start-up event is available on https://www.bitsandpretzels.com/.

Media representatives interested in booking early appointments with Miele experts from the various departments can contact Miele on presse@miele.de.

Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. Their product portfolio also includes dishwashers, air purifiers, washing machines and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications. Founded in 1899, the company has eight production plants in Germany, one each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China, Romania and Poland as well as two production plants belonging to its Italian medical technology subsidiary Steelco. Sales in the 2021 business year amounted to around € 4.84 bn. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries/regions. Throughout the world, the family-run enterprise, now in its fourth generation, employs a workforce of around 22,300, of which approx. 11,200 employees work in Germany. The company has its headquarters in Gütersloh in Westphalia.