1957
In 1957 the “working group for psychological market analysis” was founded in Nuremberg by three research assistants from the Psychological Institute of the University of Erlangen with the aim to conduct psychological market analysis. One of the founding members was
Dr. Klaus Haupt. Research topics during this time included new developments and color design of household cleaners and the respective product claims, the image of luxury watches, images best suited for instant coffee or the psychology of the car owner/ driver and finding the optimal positioning for car brands. The methodology of these studies was largely exploratory, in-depth interviews using projective techniques stemming from diagnostic clinical psychology.
1966
According to the business magazine, “Capital”, Psyma is the “largest motivational research agency in Germany”. The customer list at the time reads like a who’s who of the branded goods industry: Henkel, Maggi, Nestlé, Daimler-Benz, BMW, Reemtsma, Beiersdorf, Sprengel, Lufthansa and many more.
1967
In 1967, Reinhold Dorn launches a new department specializing in pharmaceutical market research – a novelty at that time in Germany. He also triggered the development of computer-aided methods suitable for psychological market research.
1968
The brand name, “Psyma” as an abbreviation of the company name was created to save on costly transmission time during a period when the telex was still a very common form of communication.
1971
Development of the first Psyma logo
1972
Move into the Rueckersdorfer “main building”.
1983
Opening of test studios to carry out exploratory individual surveys and group discussions in Nuremberg, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Cologne.
New techniques such as one-way mirrors, video and audio recordings became a standard set-ups in studios.
1985
Christian Ryssel joins the company.
1986
Participation in institutes for telephone surveys and quantitative personal surveys.
The range of methods is extended to include explorative-qualitative procedures to quantification and complex model simulations.
1992
Matthias Fargel joins Psyma and based on his knowledge and background of overseas markets he extends pharmaceutical market research beyond Germany and research is now conducted globally.
1993
Founding of a separate company for International Pharmaceutical Research under the management of Matthias Fargel – Psyma International Medical Marketing Research GmbH. Around the same time, there is an increasing interest in global markets for consumer products with companies such as adidas, Reemtsma, Quelle, Storck and many others.
Founding of Psyma Praha s.r.o., Czech Republic.
1995
Founding of Psyma Hungary, Budapest, Hungary.
Joint partnership with Consultic GmbH, Alzenau/Frankfurt am Main
1997
Founding of Psyma International Inc., Philadelphia, USA
1999
Dr. Klaus Haupt terminates his position as Managing Director and appoints Bernd Wachter who together with Reinhold Dorn and Christian Ryssel make up the new Management Board. In the same year, the first website evaluations and online studies are carried out. This is followed by the founding of Psyma Online Research GmbH, a pioneer of German online research under the management of Dr. Frank Knapp.
2000
Founding of Psyma Latina, Mexico City, Mexico.
2001
Founding of PSYMA GROUP AG as a holding company by the domestic and foreign subsidiaries
2002
Opening of another Psyma branch in Munich with Christina Eisenschmid as Managing Director. The focus of this branch is international automotive and financial market research. In the same year, Thomas Kolbeck joins the company to head up the department for media and TV research and sports and consumer goods at Psyma’s headquarters in Rueckersdorf.
Christian Ryssel moves from CEO to the Supervisory Board. Matthias Fargel is appointed CEO.
2005
A whole series of new companies are launched: Psyma together with the French specialists, Gérard Confrère and Nadège de Fontenay, create the company Inter-View Partners (IVP) France, a pure field agency in Lille for demanding surveys in France. In the same year, a full-service agency, Psyma Ibérica, was established in Madrid / Spain under the management of Ignacio Macias with his business partners Nuria Fernandez and Carlos Moreno. Also in 2005, after more than a decade of market research in China, Psyma started a joint venture with Lisa Zeng, Psyma Business Research China in Shanghai.
Founding of ODC Services GmbH, an operating company for international online access panels and related services together with other partners.
To build on synergies and optimize resources, Psyma Psychological Market Analysis GmbH (the successor of the original “working group for psychological market analysis”) merged in 2006 with Psyma Online Research GmbH to form Psyma Research + Consulting GmbH, based in Rueckersdorf.
2007
Opening of the office in Barcelona, Spain.
2008
Founding of Psyma Pesquisas de Mercado Ltda., Sao Paolo, Brazil.
2012
Change in the management board: Bernd Wachter is appointed CEO and Chairman of the Management Board, Dr. Frank Knapp is appointed Deputy and CIO.
Opening of the office in Detroit, USA with focus on automotive market research.
2013
Complete relaunch of our corporate identity.
2014
Psyma exceeds the 30 million mark in sales.
2015
Change in the supervisory board: Hans-Jürgen Beger replaces Reinhold Dorn.
Psyma joins AMA Gold Global Top 50 list. Psyma is proud to be part of the 2015 AMA Gold Global Top 50, which lists the finest market research agencies in the industry worldwide. The report notes that “one-third of the Global Top 50 companies are headquartered outside of the US” – and Psyma Group is the second biggest company in Germany.
2016
Change in the supervisory board:
Dr. Klaus Haupt resigns from his position as Chairman of the Supervisory Board for health reasons. Dr. Haupt is appointed honorary chairman of the supervisory board and Christian Ryssel, previously deputy chairman is appointed chairman. Heinrich Honermeier is newly elected to the Supervisory Board. He has accompanied the Psyma Group for many years as a tax advisor and auditor. Hans-Jürgen Beger is also newly elected to the Supervisory Board. Mr. Beger was previously CEO of Novartis SAE, Cairo / Egypt and then CEO of Novartis Pharma Services AG, Basel / Switzerland.
The “Context Institute Turnover List”, published annually in the trade journal, Research & Results, again shows that in 2016 Psyma is on a growth course and remains Germany’s largest privately owned market research agency with a turnover of € 32 million.
Contrary to the industry trend at this time, PSYMA GROUP AG was able to achieve the largest increase among the top 10 agencies with a 5% increase in sales.
2017
Psyma turns 60.
In August 2017, with the introduction of a quality management system based on DIN EN ISO 9001: 2015 and ISO 20252: 2012, Psyma develops further prerequisites to gain and win trust in the future of the PSYMA GROUP among clients, employees and suppliers. Strengthening quality management on a large scale as support for a better society.
2019
PSYMA GROUP AG is ranked 6th in the Context Agency Sales List with annual sales of € 35.5 million, making it the largest privately owned market research institute in Germany.
Dr. Klaus Haupt dies at the age of 87. The founder of Psyma was a true entrepreneur with a vision for the future who never forgot his social responsibility. We will miss his human and friendly nature and we will always keep him in honorable memory.
2022
Psyma Health & CARE and Exevia merge and operate together under the name Psyma+Exevia Health GmbH.
2023
Change on the Supervisory Board:
After almost six decades it is over: Christian Ryssel resigns from his position as chairman of the supervisory board. Christian Ryssel’s career started with an internship in the sixties and led through various positions as project manager, managing director, chairman of the board and finally chairman of the supervisory board of PSYMA GROUP AG.
Christian Ryssel is succeeded by Stephan Haupt as the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The son of the late founder of the Psyma Group – Dr. Klaus Haupt – brings many years of experience as a graduate computer scientist and management consultant, founder and investor in the international consulting of groups, medium-sized and young companies. In addition to Stephan Haupt, Heinrich Honermeier and Prof. Dr. Reinhard Meckl are members of the Supervisory Board of PSYMA GROUP AG.
