The smart connections project from KOSTAL Industrie Elektrik

The "Smart connections." project

Our brand claim "Smart connections." is based on responsible actions as a family-owned company, a comprehensive concept of partnership, our unwavering commitment to best quality, and our programs directed at the future.

Music connects! This is why we created our "Smart connections." project, to express our brand philosophy in a perfect manner and to further connections between our various partners and ourselves.

These connections were expressed from the start: Starting with the idea of having an extraordinary promotional gift that also expresses our corporate philosophy and working together with our partners from the music industry, we developed our "Smart connections." song.
In connection with our song, we held a workshop with Fichte high school in Hagen where a „Smart connections.“ choir and a „Smart connections.“ day were established, bringing together our various partners.

The project is ongoing and further activities revolving around „Smart connections.“ are being planned.

"Smart connections." media

Below you can download the songs associated with the "Smart connections." project and view the videos.

It look a lot of time and effort to turn the idea into the finished video but everyone involved really enjoyed themselves and the project showed what can be achieved by a diverse and dynamic group.

There was a lot of excitement surrounding the premiere of our "Smart connections." song at Intersolar 2011 and numerous smart connections were made. Alongside the discussions and provision of expert information, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the celebration together.

We kicked things off with a brief interview with the singer Zeeteah where she explained what the project means to her and encouraged the students to get involved. Discover more about this diverse performer in the video!

Our partners

We need the support of others for the project – outstanding musicians and fantastic people, who put their heart and soul into the project. This is exactly what the following partners did:

  • The British singer is originally from Barbados and has been living in Cologne since 2001. She has already successfully worked on projects with international performers like Robbie Williams, Tom Jones and Michael Jackson and has recorded her own CDs. She launched her musical career at the tender age of 5. 
    She is currently hired by large well-known German companies for internal events and promotions. Not only did she write the special text for the "Smart connections." song for us, but for two years she has also sung at our trade fair parties at Intersolar in Munich.
    To the homepage of Zeeteah Massiah
  • At the age of eleven, Wolf Codera was given his first clarinet and had his first music lesson. His talent on the saxophone is the result of teaching himself later in life. This was followed by recordings, concerts where he was the soloist in orchestras and winning the "Jugend jazzt" competition on the clarinet. It was only after he had to stop studying medicine due to illness that he turned to a career in music.
    The special "Smart connections." between himself and KOSTAL go back a long way. For him it was therefore an obvious step not only to assist us musically but also to manage the project as a producer and input his wealth of experience.
    To the homepage of Wolf Codera
  • The German guitarist Bernd Voss started his musical training at the music academies in Bremen and Hamburg and expanded his knowledge in Los Angeles. 
    After his first solo album and recordings with famous performers such as Dionne Warwick, Los del Rio, Bonnie Tyler, Umberto Tozzi and N-Sync, he decided to become a session musician as part of the New Flamenco scene in southern Spain.
    To the homepage of Bernd Voss
  • In response to our request, not only did he organise the initial brainstorming session for our project idea, but expertly managed the project as it developed. It wasn't just his organisational skills which allowed us to successfully complete all stages of the project and the project as a whole on schedule. 
    The calm approach and moral support he provided during the hectic stages of the project were particularly valued. He played the guitar at the premiere of the song in Munich.
    To the homepage of Andreas Löbbecke

The Fichte choir

the choir of Fichte high school

Joint venture with Fichte high school

In 2008, we set up a joint venture with Fichte high school in Hagen, giving us very special smart connections. This thrives on joint activities, such as organising workshops, attending the Girls’ Day, offering students intern placements or expert discussions in lessons. It is very important for us to offer these young people guidance. This produces smart connections between industry and schools, between young and old and gives shape to our future programmes.

"Smart connections." workshop

The "Smart connections." workshop organised by KOSTAL with the singer Zeeteah Massiah and the musician Wolf Codera in the spring of 2011 provided totally new smart connections for this joint venture. As part of our "Smart connections." project, more than 30 pupils from all school years spent an afternoon working with the two professional musicians.

Not only did this give the participants insight into the daily work of the musicians and allow them to demonstrate their musical talents, but they learnt how music connects people too.

 

The focus of the workshop was very clearly on enjoying the music and working with others to be part of a unique project.

For everyone involved, it was an unforgettable day, full of fun and new experiences, as demonstrated by the quotes provided here. We recorded the musical results of the workshop – the choir can be heard accompanying Zeeteah Massiah on our „Smart connections.“ CD.
Homepage Fichte high school

For me, meeting so many different people and singing together without getting to know them first is a smart connection.

Ayca
year 9 pupil

The experience of working with a famous singer, the relaxed atmosphere and working with the entire team was just great – such a cool idea.

Anna
year 8 pupil

These pupils have potential, which enabled us to produce the really great results you can hear on the CD.

Wolf Codera
Producer of the "Smart connections." project

"Smart connections." music

the smart connections project album

Song text

Today, tomorrow and the future
KOSTAL will give you what you need
Just say the word and we are with you
We want to help you to succeed

“Smart connections.” is our one big passion
Family and partnership standing side by side
“Smart connections.” to secure the future
With style and quality on that you can rely

Song idea

The idea for our own song is based on the idea of turning the “Smart connections.” philosophy into a real life experience. Since music connects and contains strong emotional components, we decided in favour of a song and recording a CD.

On it, you can hear our "Smart connections." company song, which expresses our philosophy. The song lyrics are about our central competitive advantages: The KOSTAL family, partnership, forward looking quality management, and future programs. Each of these competitive advantages is represented by an instrumental piece within the song.

The "Smart connections." song premièred at Intersolar 2011. The musicians Wolf Codera and Zeeteah Massiah presented the song for the first time to the public and entertained our visitors.

You know the time is right to join us
We promise everything we say
It’s our family tradition
We’re here to please you come what may

“Smart connections.” global innovactions
Come get on board let's make the future bright
“Smart connections.” positive reactions
Connect the world and you will feel alright

You can count on us for having quality
We'll get it right right from the start
Let's come together – we can do this – YES WE CAN!
So easy if we play our part

“Smart connections.” global innovactions
Come get on board let's make the future bright
"Smart connections." positive reactions
Connect the world and you will feel alright – you will feel alright (3x)

“Smart connections.” global innovactions
Come get on board let's make the future bright
“Smart connections.” positive reactions
Connect the world and you will feel alright – feel alright
y o u – w i l l – f e e l – a l r i g h t
You will feel alright! (2x)

Text: Zeeteah Massiah
Music: Wolf Codera

"Smart connections." Day

During the "Smart connections." Day on 27 June 2011, our guests from the PV and drive technology sectors visited us to discover what our "Smart connections." philosophy means. Numerous contacts were made and one or more smart connections were taken away from the event. Some of these connections lasted more than the one day.

experience "smart connections" at the smart connections day

Get together

Our visitors were able to get to know one another and us a little better over a bite to eat. They were also able to expand on the impressions they had gained of Intersolar in a relaxed atmosphere. So the stage was set and lots of smart connections guided us through the day’s programme.

Production tour

While attending a tour of our production facilities in Lüdenscheid and Hagen, our guests were able to see for themselves the smart connections of our products and our quality standards. They gained insight into our ultra-modern PCB production area, which forms the basis for all our products, right up to the finished PV module socket and the INVEOR frequency converter.

Live concert

As a fitting conclusion to the day, everyone went to the Colosseum in Essen for dinner and to hear WOLF CODERA’s SESSION POSSIBLE including a live performance of our "Smart connections." song. The special guest was the "Smart connections." choir from Fichte high school in Hagen.