Marcus Breitschwerdt

Meet the Mercedes-Benz executive with a fondness for history and a unique take on how it can help shape the company's future

- Gen Waddington

ABOUT 16 MILES east of Stuttgart lies the town of Schorndorf. It's picturesque yet unremarkable, typical of what is now a wineproducing area, with the old market square surrounded by quaint, half-timbered buildings, and a gently bustling feel as BadenWürttembergers go about their shopping or take some shelter from the spring sun at one of the many coffee shops and bars.

One single building is of particular note, and that's the birthplace of a visionary: Gottlieb Daimler. When the engineering company started by Daimler in 1890 merged with that of Karl Benz in 1926, the foundations were laid for the modern car manufacturer we now know as Mercedes-Benz.

"This is where it started. A protestant need to survive in a poor area,' says Marcus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz Heritage, as we pass a bust of Daimler on our way up the steps and over the threshold. "This is a very traditional house, probably built in the 1700s. Daimler was born here in 1834; his father was a baker and his mother sold wine. There was no heavy industry in the area, no minerals or agriculture. The only capital you had was your brain and a work ethic.

As one of five children and without the money to be sent away to school, the 14-year-old Daimler was faced with finding an apprenticeship locally. By his home on Höllgasse, there was a gunsmith one way and a cooper the other. "Thank goodness he chose the gunsmith,' chuckles Marcus.