OPTIMA honors 23 long-time employees

Optima has honored 23 employees for their many years of loyalty and said goodbye to retirees. Hans Bühler, Managing Partner of Optima, Human Resources Manager Sebastian Henke and Group Works Council Chairman Manfred Setzer thanked them for their many years of commitment during a ceremony at Hotel Hohenlohe. Lord Mayor Hermann-Josef Pelgrim was also present. Four employees were honored for 25 years of service, another six for 40 years of loyalty to the company. One employee has been with Optima for 50 years. Twelve employees were sent off into retirement.

Hans Bühler thanked the employees who celebrated their 25th anniversary with a certificate from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Optima silver coin. Joachim Müller, Tim Leutwein, Marc Steffen and Markus Trunzer have already been employed at Optima for 25 years. Rainer Kircher, Helmut Bertuleit, Manfred Gassner, Rolf Horlacher, Hermann Schäfer and Erhard Wolf were honored for 40 years of service. In addition to the IHK certificate, they received the Optima gold coin for their commitment. Humorous retrospectives with anecdotes from the professional life of the honorees provided for hilarity.

Klaus Hägele can look back on 50 years at Optima. Hägele began his apprenticeship as a mechanic in 1969, passed through stations in parts production, assembly, standardization and is now employed in design. In addition to his main job, he is also involved as a supervisor for trainees and students, as a company paramedic and as an examiner at the Heilbronn-Franken Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Bühler wished the twelve retiring colleagues health and well-being as well as the realization of long-cherished wishes. The retirees are: Ulfried Becker, Wolfgang Blumenroth, Werner Dambach, Christa Ellinger, Manfred Guba, Werner Gwinner, Robert Kos, Karl-Heinz Riedel, Werner Schäfer, Eugen Schierle, Wilfried Schmitzl, and Josef Schwenger.

In his speech, Lord Mayor Hermann-Josef Pelgrim emphasized the importance of honoring employees for their loyalty to the company: "The essence of our society is that through continuity and innovation in a company, you create the contribution to living together." This, he said, along with trust, communication and appreciation of many years of dedication, is the basis for companies to be successful. Here, Optima is setting a good example. On behalf of Minister President Winfried Kretschmann, he presented the employees who have already been with Optima for 40 and 50 years with a certificate from the state and thanked them for their commitment. "You are the role model for many," clarified Lord Mayor Pelgrim addressing the jubilarians and retirees. Long-serving employees had given valuable impulses and imparted knowledge. The state honored this commitment with the award.

The city of Schwäbisch Hall has also experienced just as dynamic a development as Optima, added the Lord Mayor. Recently, Schwäbisch Hall was ranked seventh in terms of dynamic development among German cities with a population of 20,000 to 75,000. The dynamism of the city's development is closely linked to that of the positive development of the prospering companies in the region, he said.