The inutec foundation & success story
From the visions of an individual to the innovative strength of a company
Even as a child, Alexander Kaub realised that if he had to work most of the time in his life, it should be something meaningful and good for everyone.
Alexander had a happy childhood, spending a lot of time outside with the neighbourhood children and often taking the initiative and leading the way.
His parents divorced when he was ten. From then on, he had major problems at school in his new home in Duisburg. Until he was 15, he felt very lonely and had no friends.
He was trained as a fitter at August-Thyssen Hütte, which at that time was something like a large district of Duisburg.
These years of training were ultimately fun for Alexander, but he realised right from the start that he didn't want to build and repair things as a fitter that he didn't know what they were needed and used for.
So after his apprenticeship, he decided to broaden his horizons, travel and get to know the world.
Get to know the world
He spent six months in various African countries until he realised that he was now older and needed to do something sensible. Alexander had a secondary school leaving certificate in engineering, but did not see his vocation in this field at the time.
He moved away from ‘the dirty Ruhr area’ to Kassel, where he caught up on his A-levels.
Alexander also fought for this qualification and finally decided in favour of technology again. He studied environmental engineering in Wolfenbüttel. There was always a lot of useful work to be done there, said Alexander. This degree programme was also a challenge for him and he once again felt like an outsider. But with perseverance and determination, he earned his degree.
With an excellent thesis on energy saving and rainwater utilisation, he laid the foundations for the later founding of inutec.
This was followed by a brief intermezzo at a waste disposal company, where Alexander's customers greatly appreciated his work, but his young superiors did not.
Alexander, now with a wife and a child, quickly decided to work independently. He thought it suited him well.
inutec's Foundation
Alexander Kaub founded the engineering office for environmental management and technology, abbreviated "inutec," in 1995. Later, it became the "inutec solarcenter" – fully focused on solar energy.
The inutec Logo was created in the bathtub, inspired by a chestnut leaf on a bottle of Badedas. Alexander wanted to combine technology with environmental protection, and thus, the inutec logo was born. Alexander Kaub taught himself to create business letters, offers, brochures...and much more, all self-taught from books.
After half a year of hard work, he was rewarded with his first commission to build a rainwater harvesting system.
Due to lack of money and employees, he completed his first projects entirely on his own. For example, he rented an excavator and dug a large, three-meter-deep hole in his client's garden, properly installed the rainwater cistern, and created his first very successful and high-quality rainwater harvesting system, laying the foundation for his path to becoming the "Rainwater Pope."
Soon after, the first solar system was commissioned. Alexander Kaub learned, planned, and installed, and more systems followed.
Encouraged by these successes, he invited people to his first public lecture on rainwater harvesting at the University of Applied Sciences Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel.
When 250 attendees filled the university's stairs, he nervously had to move to the large auditorium. He felt his lecture was rough and in need of improvement, but his audience loved it – as some of the resulting customers later told him.
Thus, inutec grew year by year under Alexander's determined and tireless leadership. Soon, the first employees joined, and the team quickly grew to five and even ten colleagues.
The Photovoltaic Boom Starting in 2000
Starting in the year 2000, photovoltaics really began to take off. With the second EEG support program passed in 2001, a true flood of orders came pouring in for inutec. inutec quickly rose to become the number one between Harz and Heide.
When asked about this "success," Alexander says he was merely following his vision – the vision of silent and independent energy production through the sun. His goal was to bring this idea to the public. The subsequent boom showed that the time for this idea had come, and he had shared it with other key individuals.
By 2012, inutec had planned and installed several thousand PV systems, turnkey. Alexander always aimed to achieve the highest quality. Employees needed to be trained and also supervised.
"Steve Jobs changed my life," says Alexander Kaub.
Due to lack of time, Alexander had to give up reading books.
Apple's new iPods allowed him to compensate for this great loss by listening to audiobooks.
He listened to pretty much everything related to business management, employee leadership, personal development, and various technical audiobooks.
By now, Kaub has listened to around 1,000 technical audiobooks. Even today, he listens to at least one audiobook per week.
It's also thanks to audiobooks that Kaub began analyzing himself.
Alexander's Character Checked
Questions like, "Why have I made certain decisions in the past? What is important to me? How do I want to live?" Alexander Kaub's character emerged, showing that he loves learning new things, creating, and realizing good new ideas.
After 15 years at his company in Schladen, he began to feel a bit bored. He was always telling ministers, mayors, influencers, and many potential customers the same stories about the advantages of solar energy.
Alexander also advocated that the automotive industry should switch to electric cars before it's too late, but it didn't make a difference – as we can see today.
It was time for something new.
Leaving the Comfort Zone
He wanted to leave his comfort zone and expand it as a result. But where, what, and how?
He was so enthusiastic about solar energy that he wanted to stick with it. The challenge was to find a new market. He didn’t like the eastern countries, and Africa didn’t seem suitable to him. So he decided on Southeast Asia.
To do this, he had to hand over 60 percent of his company's management to his employees – a path many entrepreneurs should take anyway, he thought. "But what can I offer to the Indonesians and Filipinos?" Kaub asked himself. There were plenty of products from nearby China, likely cheaper. What was missing was the knowledge.
The knowledge existed in Germany, acquired through many mistakes made during the construction of countless PV systems since the turn of the millennium.
A Lot of Work and a Hard Time – For What?
So Alexander attended all the available PV courses that were offered. He also became a TÜV-certified expert for photovoltaic systems.
But the knowledge also had to be conveyed.
He worked for about a year just on the concepts for his training sessions and lectures and founded the Academy for Solar Power Education – TASPE, building a team to help him promote and run the courses.
Today, he doubts the effort he put in and shakes his head.
A Lot of Work and a Hard Time – For What?
So Alexander attended all the available PV courses that were offered. He also became an accredited TÜV expert for photovoltaic systems.
But the knowledge also had to be conveyed.
He worked for about a year just on the concepts for his training sessions and lectures, and founded the Academy for Solar Power Education – TASPE, building a team to help him promote and conduct the courses.
Today, he doubts the effort he put in and shakes his head.
But the School Concept Worked
Until 2020, he worked with the leading universities of the countries. He trained ministries, politicians, decision-makers from energy suppliers, and essentially all relevant companies and their teams in Southeast Asia, often in collaboration with AHK, GIZ, companies, and universities. Many events were conducted with his own local team. There was practical training, but also many days of theoretical instruction.
Alexander’s goal was also to support and supply local projects. The systems from SMA, a company based in Kassel, were particularly in demand in Indonesia.
Many projects were brought to Alexander, worked on, and in some cases, implemented on a million-euro scale. For example, the Indonesian island of Karampuang was fully equipped with off-grid systems from SMA in all four villages. Many loud generators were replaced with silent, long-lasting, and cost-effective solar energy.
Difficult Conditions and Harsh Realities
But in Indonesia and the Philippines, bureaucracy reigns. The state, companies, and end customers have no money, making financing difficult. In Indonesia, gasoline is heavily subsidized.
The rather unbureaucratic Alexander, who values the cause more than personal interests, cares deeply about trust and honesty, and enjoys helping, was also exploited and deceived.
A container of solar panels and other materials "disappeared" from the customs port. And the only time a long-standing partner received goods two months before payment due to urgency, the payment never materialized in the end.
Despite everything, in 2020, Alexander and an Indonesian partner won the largest nationwide solar tender in Indonesia – in the tens of millions. But the project was delayed, then came COVID – and the projects were canceled.
In addition to many experiences, Alexander also met and fell in love with his second wife. The two have been together for over 12 years.
Germany is Beautiful!
However, Alexander never lived in Asia for more than 3 months a year. From the other side of the world, even the Deutsche Bahn seems like a fantastic marvel.
Alexander had learned enough – at least regarding his foreign project. Since 2020, the inutec solar center has rejected all inquiries from Asia.
inutec-int.com | the Online Shop
Instead, the inutec-int.com online shop of inutec solarcenter international GmbH is being built.
In early 2018, Alexander created most of it almost by himself.
The shop grew – and now even the biggest challenge of a company has been solved and achieved. A pretty good team!
The inutec solar center is now operated by 10 reliable, capable, and trustworthy employees, mostly working from home.
Alexander wants to implement many ideas from New Work. The transition from old hierarchies to self-determined work that is performed in the flow as much as possible. The journey is the goal, and the goal is in the way.
Customers should always be advised openly, honestly, and independently of manufacturers.
All employees at inutec share these values – only in this way can everyone learn and grow, and that is ultimately what it’s all about.
Over the past years, a lot of competence has been built up – and they like and appreciate each other.
Knowledge transfer now also through the PV-Shop inutec-int.com
The virtue of knowledge transfer – already practiced in Asia – is now also being introduced in the online presence of inutec-int.com.
A large knowledge database under construction
Including a continuously growing series of PV training sessions, a large database with help for device malfunctions, commissioning & more, technical support to ensure a good installation, as well as technical guidance and the testing and registration of the PV system.
Customers evaluate products and receive as much reused packaging as possible
It will now also be possible for customers to evaluate products purchased at inutec. Our customers and we work together here, as we have the same interests, which is a natural part of critical and manufacturer-independent consulting and knowledge transfer.
Goods will be shipped, whenever possible, in used boxes, equipped with a special sticker and a thank you note. Why should one simply throw away these huge amounts of packaging material when it is still suitable for shipping, says Alexander Kaub. After all, the customer buys the product and not the packaging, which is only there for protection during transport. Luxury packaging from many well-known brands is considered a waste by many in the inutec team. Although these boxes can also be used as sock holders and organizational elements.
Projects that are upcoming in the next few years include the employee participation in inutec's profits.
Alexander's Work-Life Balance?
Alexander Kaub is used to working 60 hours a week. It is usually a joy for him. Doing nothing and letting his soul dangle is not for Alexander. He considers a work-life balance to be nonsense; self-determined, meaningful work should be a fixed part of life.
My often creative work keeps me young and happy, says Kaub. I enjoy being able to work from anywhere in the world; there is no room for boredom. Better a little too much than a little too little.
The 64-year-old wants to continue doing this for several more decades.
Alexander Kaub's Guarantee Promise:
The goal of the inutec solar center is to provide the best possible advice to its customers and to create good PV systems.
Good and worthwhile for our customers, the environment, and then also for us.
Collaboration.
Maximizing sales comes last.
I stand behind this with my name.