Rainer Blickle was born on July 16, 1947 in Heidelberg, Germany and grew up at the headquarters of the Süddeutsche Elektromotorenwerke in Durlacher Straße, Bruchsal. He studied Architecture and Mechanical Engineering. In 1975, he moved to Brazil on behalf of SEW-EURODRIVE and began to set up the production plant of SEW do Brasil in Guarulhos S.P. After his father, Ernst Blickle, had passed away, he returned to Germany in 1987, where he took on the role of Managing Partner of the SEW Group until he retired from this position in 2013.
During this period, he oversaw the establishment of the electronics production, the Ernst Blickle Innovation Center (EBIC), the DriveAcademy®, and the Plant for Large Gear Units in Bruchsal, among others, and many other plants all over the world. Under his supervision, the company developed from sales of DM 409 million (1982) to over EUR 2.5 billion (2013). While SEW-EURODRIVE had just 4,648 employees in 1987, the total had already reached 15,500 by 2013.
Rainer Blickle was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, First Class, of the Federal Republic of Germany, was Vice-President of the Karlsruhe Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and was a member of the Board of Management of the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (Zentralverband der Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie, ZVEI e.V.), Frankfurt. He was also a member of the Board of Management of Südwestmetall Baden-Württemberg, Chairman of the Board of Management of Südwestmetall – Regional Group Karlsruhe, Chairman of the Board of Management of the SEW-EURODRIVE Foundation, and he was also committed to several social and cultural institutions. Among other fields, he particularly supported young people; for instance, he initiated the Bruchsal Educational Foundation (Bruchsaler Bildungsstiftung), which supported education in schools, science, and research.