Monotony? Not with Josef Schnell!

12,799 days - that’s 1,828 weeks or 420 months. Josef Schnell was employed at groninger for just as much of his life. After 35 years and exactly 14 days, the electrician is now starting his well-deserved retirement. At his retirement party in a small group and proper distancing, the 64-year-old looks back on his time at groninger.

Three memories come to his mind--the humble beginnings of the company - especially in electrical assembly, the rapid growth of the company and the respectful interaction with each other. He talks about the following points, in particular:

“You no longer can compare the electrical assembly back then to today. Our lines were much smaller and more manageable, not as complex and expensive as they are today,” says the father of two, adding: “But that has also been the attraction over the years. I was able to develop further in terms of content with each line. I never had the feeling that I was standing still, instead I was able to learn and made progress. That is still the case today and has always given me an incredible amount of joy.” He has to smile when he thinks back to the company’s extremely rapid growth. And there is a reason for that. “I can think of a number of occasions when Horst Groninger said that the company should not continue to grow and reached a sufficient size, for example, when the 200th employee was hired.” Well, what’s there to say? Some projects don’t succeed, even at groninger. After all, groninger employs more than 1,300 people today.

One aspect that Josef Schnell emphasizes and that is particularly important to him is the personal and respectful interaction with one another. “For me, that was always the most important thing – by far. I always felt welcomed and that they believed in me.” This trust in employees is by no means a matter of course, but rather a real special characteristic, says the soon-to-be retiree. “In my opinion, that has always made groninger excellent and special.”

In the future, the Crailsheimer will no longer be engaging with electrical things so much: He would like to devote more time to his hobby, music. And his wife has already one or the other task waiting for him. “I certainly won’t be bored,” Josef Schnell says with a laugh. Jens Groninger likes to interject: “And if you do, you can come and see us at any time. Our doors are always open to you.”