On 13 December 2019 a new chapter has begun. For 28 years, the Kieselmann company celebrated its end of the year in the Knittlinger Stadthalle. This is now over. Not with the Christmas party. But with the venue. The space is no longer sufficient.
This year the first celebration was held in the Weissachtalhalle in Freudenstein. The guest list included 380 employees. That is 220 more than at the first celebration in the Knittlingen Stadthalle in 1991. Managing director Klaus Dohle mentioned this healthy growth in his welcoming speech.
He congratulated the employees on another successful business year. Major brewery projects in Germany and Switzerland and an XXL order for almost 2000 ball valves and 50 pigging systems for a customer in the cosmetics industry testify to the company's reputation in the industry. It is thanks to this reputation and the continued commitment of the workforce that the company was able to hold its own very well in a weakening market.
In challenging times, such as the unscheduled disruption of the high-bay warehouse, the KIESELMänner and KIESELFrauen had shown what they were made of. And the effort was worth it. The expansion of the picking and packing workstations has resulted in a 30% increase in capacity. An increase in performance that also appeals to the customers: as faster delivery.
In addition to the high-bay warehouse, the company has expanded its machinery. In 2019, the original shareholders, Renate Dohle, Karin Helms-Kieselmann and Rosemarie Zitsch, released an investment sum of 5 million euros. Addressing the three Grand Dames of the company, Klaus Dohle thanked them for their extraordinary support.
The company intends to maintain its moderate growth course for 2020. An important innovation, which stands for the future-oriented view of the company and will be online in 2020, is the Kieselmann Business-to-Business Webshop.
After the look into the future followed the look into the past and with it the honours of the jubilees. Thorsten Krieg from the design department and Christine Häusler from the sales department have been accompanying the company for a decade. For a quarter of a century KIESELMANN was honoured Kerstin Grosch (assistant to the management), Dirk Vogler (plant engineering), Yakup Yemenici (CNC turning shop), Holger Kritzer (development), Andreas Rauch (turning and milling shop) and in absence Uwe Braun (sales). Joachim Burkhardt (welding shop), Martin Hruschka (sheet metal shop) and Bernd Wenzdorfer (plant manufacturing) have been loyal to the company for 40 years.
Thunderous applause was also heard for Günter Plag. The retired personnel manager had returned last year to support his former department once again. Now the KIESELMANN Urgestein was bid farewell after almost 50 years of service.
After the honours Klaus Dohle opened the buffet. Canteen chef Wolfgang Wittig and his team had prepared a varied festive menu. For dessert, there were ice cream variations and a varied entertainment programme for the trainees. The prelude was a humorous review of the year. This was followed by a sketch and a Christmas carol medley. Musically cheerful, the event continued with a party DJ and delicious cocktails. Until further past midnight, people danced, laughed and remembered a beautiful year. A successful start to this new chapter in the Weissachtalhalle.
Photos from the KIESELMANN celebration 2019 can be viewed on Facebook: please click here