Art is part of our identity

An artistic chapter by Rolf Meurer and ROMEX®

The connection between ROMEX® and art began long before the first paintings adorned our corridors. In the early years, when ROMEX® was opening up new markets in Eastern Europe, business partners were sometimes unable to repay credits or loans in cash. Instead, they were given the opportunity to settle their debts with works of art. This led to unusual barter transactions: paintings were created, framed and ultimately became part of ROMEX®.

Many of these works still hang in our building today, telling the story of those early days. In one corridor, there are delicate watercolours of Eastern European cities – cathedrals, monasteries, rows of houses, in muted colours, imbued with the tranquillity of another era. Another painting depicts a Chinese courtyard scene: children playing, adults preparing for a festival, surrounded by architectural splendour. They represent tradition, history and community – values that also characterise ROMEX®. An impressive testimony to this era is a monumental painting from the period of socialist realism: Lenin speaking to workers. It is reminiscent of a world in which art was not only decoration, but also a political tool – and at ROMEX® even became a currency.

But it didn't stop with these early paintings. A decisive moment came when Waltraut Meurer, the wife of the company's founder, persuaded him to visit an exhibition in the forest near Bad Münstereifel. Paintings hung between trees – free, open, visible to everyone. This ‘forest exhibition’ triggered a new chapter: the support of regional art.

When the first auction of the open-air gallery took place later in Bad Münstereifel, sales stalled. The first painting was put up for auction at €600 – no one bid. Rolf Meurer raised his hand, bought the work and carried on. In the end, he purchased artworks for over €6,000 and finally bought the unsold paintings so that the artists could receive their deserved remuneration. A similar scenario repeated itself years later: at the second open-air gallery in 2024, he ultimately purchased the majority of the remaining works. This is how he became a patron of the regional art scene.

The works that have since been added to ROMEX® are diverse and speak different languages. Small Asian village scenes hang in one room: boats, fishermen, farmers in rice terraces. They tell of work, community and simplicity – images that act as mirrors of our own down-to-earth nature. Right next door hang expressive animal depictions inspired by Franz Marc: red horses representing strength and dynamism, a blue horse representing spirit and vision, and a dog in the snow symbolising calm, loyalty and security. The collection opens up even further to world art: works in the style of Paul Gauguin that evoke the life and colours of the South Seas. Women in bold shades of red and yellow, embedded in luminous landscapes, show a different world – exotic, colourful, intense. They remind us that art means cosmopolitanism, inspiration and the willingness to think beyond boundaries.

Together with the operations manager, Rolf Meurer considered how this diversity could be made visible. Today, the works can be seen not only in offices and meeting rooms, but also on the facades of our warehouses and production halls. Anyone who walks through ROMEX® – whether employees, international customers or even chance passers-by – encounters art.

For Rolf Meurer, art was never just decoration. It was an expression of an attitude: We live by stories. Stories break the ice, open doors and are more convincing than facts and figures. He always said: ‘I didn't sell products, I sold stories.’

This credo lives on in ROMEX®. Art has become part of our identity – as the legacy of Rolf Meurer, as inspiration for us all, as a visible sign to the outside world. Every canvas, every colour, every motif contributes to ROMEX® standing not only for quality in construction, but also for culture, humanity and the power of stories.