In 1899 the founders of Miele, Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann, chose the motto Immer besser, always better. In August 1951 the company introduced a suggestion scheme for its employees. In September 2026 Miele marked 75 years of the scheme. According to the company, employees submitted more than 26,000 improvement suggestions in the previous ten years. Their economic benefit was over 20 million euros, and Miele paid more than three million euros in bonuses. In one example, small spare parts are now shipped in mailing envelopes instead of cartons. On about 75,000 shipments this saved around 54,000 euros in the first year.