Last Friday evening, our anniversary was celebrated in grand style: More than 750 employees, guests of honour, customers and suppliers were invited to the large marquee on our factory premises in Saterland for this festive occasion.
The 150th anniversary celebrations were characterised by gratitude for the past, confidence for the future and common cohesion. (from left to right: Jörg Waskönig, Minister of Economic Affairs Olaf Lies and Stefan Nestler)
Emil Waskönig and Janine Bangen, the children of Jörg and Michael Waskönig, jointly led the convivial evening: In entertaining rounds of talks and during the celebratory speeches, they not only looked back on the successful company history that began 150 years ago in the “Bergisches Land” region, but also took a look into the future. Numerous congratulations and wonderful presents, among others from the employees and our “Kabelinis”, and a party afterwards made the anniversary celebration an all-round successful event. Another highlight of the evening was the screening of the new corporate film and the accompanying making of.
Tradition, innovation and unbridled drive.
The strong bond between management, employees and the family runs like a thread through the past 150 years of the company's history. Fairness, flexibility and partnership are strong values that have always been passed on from generation to generation. With Theo Waskönig, the next and thus sixth generation is already ready to continue this tradition. The anniversary was also an occasion to thank the employees for their extraordinary commitment and excellent work. After all, they are the basis for the company's success and have contributed significantly to Waskönig+Walter being one of the leading companies in the cable industry today.
Great cohesion as a key to success.
In their speeches, Managing Directors Jörg Waskönig and Stefan Nestler emphasised precisely this strong cohesion – for example, after the devastating fire in 2007 that destroyed the warehouse and logistics area: Only by close cooperation it was possible to overcome this catastrophe and trigger a new surge of innovation with the construction of a modern high-rack warehouse – which continues to this day and is constantly driven by investments in the company.
Meeting new challenges with innovative strength.
Lower Saxony's Minister of Economics, Olaf Lies, guest of honour at the evening, emphasised in his speech that Waskönig+Walter, with its more than 570 employees, is in an excellent position. The energy transition needs cables and Waskönig+Walter, as a regionally rooted company and one of the most modern cable plants in Europe, is successfully holding ist own on the competitive world market.
Progressive, forward-looking and interconnected.
Future challenges such as the struggle against climate change are being actively tackled: Here Waskönig+Walter counts on close cooperation with customers, in order to develop sustainable solutions, as Jörg Waskönig emphasised. As a family business, we are aware of our special responsibility for future generations. With optimism and innovative strength, we are looking positively to the coming years and are determined to face the new challenges together.