“Hired, Came and Stayed”

Due to the group size, the anniversary celebration at the end of 2022 was divided into two parts. Jens and Volker Groninger, managing directors, personally honored the jubilarians and thanked them for their loyalty and commitment at both events: “It's always special to see so many long-term companions,” Jens Groninger says, impressed, and adds, “Not only do you have a lot of seniority here, but also a lot of groninger expertise.”

Conversations with the honorees reveal how correct the managing director is - many of them have already completed their training with the world market leader in filling and closing lines, and in many cases, they have done so together. The atmosphere is correspondingly familiar, with the emphasis on togetherness and mutual appreciation.

Felix Morasch is among those being honored for their tenth anniversary. He sums up his time as follows, “Back then, I applied at groninger, was hired, came, and stayed.” He has never looked back on this decision.

Andreas Streicher, who is also being honored for ten years, puts it this way, “At the time, I thought I’d take the experience of working at groninger for a few months. It’s been ten years now. It's mind-boggling how quickly time has passed.”

However, time seems to have flown by even faster for those employees who have been with groninger for decades. No surprise, they not only witnessed the company’s rapid growth at first hand, but also made it possible in the first place.

“There was a spirit of optimism everywhere. The company was under construction and we wanted to grow,” says Ralf Glock, who is being honored for 30 years of service.

“There was only one building in Crailsheim when I started three decades ago,” Stefanie Kurz recalls. Today, the groninger sites in Crailsheim, Schnelldorf, and Charlotte (USA) cover an area larger than 14.5 hectares - the size of 20 football fields.

Marcus Bürk, who has also been with us for 30 years, enjoys remembering our breaks together, “We were still a small company back then, where everyone knew everyone, and of course, we took our breaks together.”

Volker Groninger adds with a laugh, “In this shape and form, with more than 1,370 employees, this is unfortunately no longer possible. However, it is critical that we maintain this family atmosphere. It sets us apart, makes us successful and ultimately makes work a lot more enjoyable. The nice thing is that we have control over it.”

It was the second time in a year that jubilarians were honored. During the summer, 18 employees were honored for their 325 years of service. In total, 65 employees at groninger were honored for a total of 1,085 years - in 2022 alone.

Honored for ... 

... 30 years of service: Rolf Beck, Marcus Bürk, Thorsten Ferfler, Dietmar Fuchs, Ralf Glock, Manfred Haag, Dieter Held, Stefanie Kurz, Mathias Lechler, Helmut Müller, Norbert Rettenmeier

... 25 years of service: Robert Schwartz, Friedrich Reiss, Marc  Richter, Jochen Scherrle, Rainer Vogt, Marion Weihbrecht

... 10 years of service: Michael Bierlein, Denis Borkmann, Adam Brachmann, Simon Breuninger, Cagri Colak, Konstantin Deibert, Jan Eiberger, Thomas Haslauer, Steffen Hofmann, Verena Hofmann, Daniel Hufstadt, Natalja Juskenas, Patrick Kolb, Thomas Konle, Wolfgang Kraft, Patrick Kraus, Thomas Krotki, Lars Michael, Felix Morasch, Stephen Murphy, Alexander Neumüller, Josef Ottenwälder, Tobias Popp, Nils Reichert, Christian Rohrer, Denise Schilp, Martin Schneider, Sonja Schneider, Frank Schöller, Andreas Streicher, Marcel Weiß