On 28 October 2013, the Hohenstein Institute had two reasons to celebrate: In addition to the official opening of the new “Otto Mecheels building” with around 2,580 m² floor area, Willy Bogner, the owner of the sports fashion company Willy Bogner GmbH & Co. KGaA, was awarded the “Otto Mecheels Medal” for his services and innovations in the textile industry.
Prof. Dr. Stefan Mecheels, the director of the Hohenstein Institute, welcomed around 160 selected guests to the ceremony at Schloss Hohenstein castle. The first part of the event was the official opening of the new building, including speeches from Dr. Rainer Haas, district administrator for Ludwigsburg, and Kornelius Bamberger, mayor of the town of Bönnigheim.
Then Helmfried Meinel, head of department at the Ministry for Environment, Climate and Energy Management of the state of Baden-Württemberg, presented the concept of sustainability in the textile industry within the environmental policy code of the state government.
The new building was opened and named by Prof. Dr. Stefan Mecheels and Prof. Dr. Hendrik Brumme, president of Reutlingen University. Carsten Könner, the architect for the new institute building, presented Prof. Dr. Stefan Mecheels with the symbolic key to the new building. The special shape of the key was modelled on the architectural top view of the new building.
For 71 year old Willy Bogner, the visit to Bönnigheim in Swabia was a trip back to his professional roots: In the 1960s, Willy Bogner was a successful student at the former Hohenstein school to prepare for working at the company founded by his father in Munich in 1932.
Dr. Jürgen Weber, former board member and chairman of the board of Lufthansa AG, gave the laudatory speech for Willy Bogner, reflecting on his work and his service to sports. Afterwards, Prof. Dr. Stefan Mecheels presented the Otto Mecheels Medal to Willy Bogner.
Markus Wasmeier, who won two Olympic gold medals in alpine ski racing, Bogner chief sports designer Gotthardin Thylmann and Willy Bogner himself performed an entertaining dialog about the development of functional sports clothing from the first Olympic Winter Games 1936 until today. Willy Bogner's work as a film maker and as a cinematographer – including for various James Bond Films and his own productions – was also presented.
