Insight Elpro: Matthias Witt,
Head of Service Sales

Since when have you been working at Elpro, and for how long?

I’ve been working at Elpro since 2020. I started as a Sales Engineer in the Service division and was already involved in sales back then. In 2023, I took over as Regional Manager for the Western Region in Essen, and since 2024, I’ve been Head of Service Sales.

How did you come to join Elpro?

Before that, I was working in consulting in the Ruhr area, but during the pandemic, the entire sector I was working in collapsed. I was offered a position in Stuttgart, but Stuttgart just isn’t my kind of city. My girlfriend and I were considering moving to Berlin, so we started looking there. The job posting in the Service division emphasized how much there is to shape and develop. I thought that sounded like a great opportunity – and that’s how I came across Elpro.

So it was a mix of Berlin as a location and the opportunities at Elpro that attracted you?

Exactly. I have a lot of friends in Berlin, and I’m also involved with the national board of the Workers’ Samaritan Youth, which is based in Berlin – so I had always wanted to live there for a while.

But now you’ve ended up back in Essen?

That’s just how life goes. But it also shows the development opportunities I’ve had at Elpro so far. After nearly four years, I now manage an important Elpro branch.

What’s the work like at Elpro’s Western regional office?

In Essen, we’re a relatively small team that’s continuously growing. We work very closely with a partner company in the Ruhr area to execute our projects on site. Since most people don’t like to travel extensively, it’s great that our partner can handle the local execution. Sales is mainly about initiating contact, but at the end of the day, you also need a hands-on mentality – sometimes you just have to head out to the construction site and make sure everything’s running smoothly.

What makes your work at Elpro special?

It’s not like in a large corporation, where everything is slow and rigid. If someone has a good idea – whether it’s a working student or a senior business developer – it actually gets implemented and doesn’t depend on hierarchy. At Elpro, you can progress through dedication without having to climb 20 steps first.

What about your work-life balance? Especially as a new father, that must be important…

If you know big corporations and have experienced the feeling of just being a small cog in the machine, then working in a medium-sized company feels very different – more human, I’d say. One key topic is flexibility. If your job doesn’t require you to sit with your laptop next to a system, it doesn’t really matter where you work from. As long as you have a proper work environment and a stable internet connection, it’s not an issue. I really like that at the end of the day, it’s the results that count – not the way you get there. For me, that means self-managed work and flexible hours.

Final question: is there a project you particularly enjoyed?

The boat lift in Niederfinow, for example – a particularly prestigious project where Elpro is handling the control and electrical engineering. It’s an incredibly impressive facility, and one where you really enjoy spending time. There’s even a really cool viewing platform. Two boat lifts stand side by side – an old one and a new one. We’re now responsible for the new one. You definitely have to check it out sometime.

I definitely will – thanks so much, Matthias!