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MARTIN GIERKE
Martin Gierke, director of industrial design for Black and Decker
North American Power Tools, says his objective is to be
number one in every category.
“The goal is to be so in tune with our end users
that the end product is something that they’ve just got to
have. Top
management understands that design is more than a service,
that it’s one of the keys not only to surviving among our
competitors but to dominating or eliminating them.”
(Innovation
online, Spring1999)
Just
looking at the tools from Black and Decker makes it clear
that design is a key element of their strategy; somehow
Black and Decker tools just look like they’ll get the job
done better. Black
and Decker started in 1910 with a $1200.00 USD investment;
today they are a $5 billion (USD) Fortune 200 company.
They are the largest producer of hand tools in the
world today.
Martin
Gierke has been contributing to their success for over 16
years. We are
sure that his mother is proud, not only that he capitalized
on the appreciate of tools he acquired from his grandfather,
but that he has gone beyond his commercial success at Black
and Decker to share his knowledge with others as an
Associate Professor of Loyola College and advisor to Loyola
and the Design Management Institute.
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