With the establishment of its headquarters in Gelsenkirchen on 1 April 1889, Voigt & Schweitzer proudly looks back on 125 years of experience and quality in hot-dip galvanising and surface treatment of steel. Together with the acceptance campaign In|du|strie Gemeinsam. Zukunft. Leben. and its customers, the company celebrated its long-standing existence on 7 May in the Gelsenkirchen production hall at An den Schleusen. In the process, the approximately 400 guests were presented with new information on innovation and tradition from ZINQ.

Under the motto „ZINQ meets In|du|strie“, a diverse programme awaited all visitors to the event. In the first part of the congress, the approximately 200 invited managing directors, shareholders from industry in North Westphalia and Cologne, as well as guests from industry, had the opportunity for a joint exchange of experiences. In the presence of District Administrator Prof. Dr. Reinhard Klenke and Gelsenkirchen's Lord Mayor Frank Baranowski, State Secretary Dr. Günther Horzetzky from the Voigt & Schweitzer company conveyed his congratulations from the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs and emphasised the importance of industry for North Rhine-Westphalia.

„NRW is the industrial heartland of Germany. That is why we are doing everything we can to ensure good conditions for industry. An important factor for the competitiveness of our economy is to appropriately involve citizens in industrial projects. Because without a partnership-based dialogue, large projects can hardly be implemented today.“

Later, Gustav Deiters, spokesperson for the industry's acceptance campaign in North-Westphalia and Vice President of the IHK North-Westphalia, and Frank Arnulf Busen, spokesperson for the same acceptance campaign in the Cologne region, engaged in an exciting dialogue about their work and outlined their plans for the future.

The subsequent panel discussion on the topic „Focus on Youth. Youth and traditional industrial values – can they still go together?“ also raised interesting aspects regarding the current battle for talent in industry. For Lars Baumgürtel, Managing Partner of Voigt & Schweitzer GmbH & Co. KG in particular, this is an important future issue:

„Our “Mach dein ZINQ' training initiative has received a lot of positive public feedback, for example with the 'Ausbildungs-Ass 2013' award. 'Mach dein ZINQ' is a unique selling point for our company, relying on authenticity rather than glossy advertising. Particularly as a traditional, family-run business, the well-being of our apprentices will remain a special concern for us in the future."

The second part of the event was also exciting. It became practical there: the other approximately 200 anniversary guests as well as the employees of Voigt & Schweitzer could experience a „Magic Moment“. Dr. Birgitt Bendiek, a member of the management team at Voigt & Schweitzer GmbH & Co. KG, commented on a live galvanising process and briefly captivated the audience with the world of metallurgy.

The eventful day concluded with a guided chronicle tour celebrating 125 years of ZINQ. Lars Baumgürtel draws a positive conclusion:

„We are delighted that the IHK Nordwestfalen accepted our invitation as hosts and held their annual working congress as part of our 125th anniversary. The active participation of almost 400 guests also made this day an exclusive and eventful occasion.“

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