Reifenhäuser Corporate Social Responsibility
Acting with foresight
As a company, we are part of this society, and as part of this society we bear responsibility for its wellbeing. Learn more about our social commitment.
ACTING WITH FORESIGHT
Taking responsibility
For us, sustainability also means assuming social responsibility for our employees, for future generations, and for the regions in which we operate. As a successful company, we want to give part of our success back to society. Therefore, Reifenhäuser is involved in regional and supra-regional projects. We place a special focus on the promotion of children and young people.
Our Topics
A major priority
Commitment of the entrepreneurial family
A true family affair
The brothers Bernd and Ulrich manage the Reifenhäuser family business. However, the name Reifenhäuser is not only the name of two brothers but of a large family that is committed to the company and takes the special responsibility to its employees and the region very seriously. Social commitment is therefore a top priority for us. In fact, it is less the spectacular, huge sponsoring projects, but more a multitude of local projects. In this way, we promote social and ecological commitment in many places – within the company itself and also in the region.
THAT'S WHAT WE DO
Our projects
Help is always needed somewhere – by the way, not every project we support is also initiated by the Reifenhäuser family. Many ideas come directly from our "Extrusioneers".
Reifenhäuser conference floor under children's command for a week
School vacation, kindergartens closed for the summer, and there are always too few vacation days left over - does that ring a bell? Sometimes parents have to bend over backward to organize childcare in vacation time. So 2020 saw the premiere of a children’s summer game week at the Troisdorf location. For a whole week, children took over command of the large conference floor where customer meetings and video conferences usually take place. With quiz games, handicrafts, face painting, and juggling – an experienced team of educators looked after the vacationing kids for five days and make sure there was plenty of action.
Désirée Aringhoff had planned the summer games week long before the appearance of Covid-19 and is pleased the campaign could take place despite the pandemic. That’s because it wasn't clear for a long time whether it would take place of not. “We had to reorganize quite a bit and do without a few things. We couldn't split the group by age and sadly, we had to cancel the scavenger hunt on the company site involving a visit to the parents' workplace.” Nonetheless, it was a heap of fun for the children and teenagers. For the parents, it was mainly one thing: practical. That's why there was a "thumbs up" for the event. “It's just so practical,” said Sabine van Rooij, Dominik Rockenfeld, and Christian Zielke: “You drive to the office with the children in the morning and drive back home again in the afternoon – without having to make any detours. It's great that for a few days you don't have to worry about how and where to look after them.”
City cycling tour 2020 – we were there and we’re the best team in Troisdorf!
The annual CITY CYCLING tour is all about switching from car to bike. Because the bike is and remains a great alternative to the car, especially in cities. No matter whether you commute to work or go on a weekend trip to the country: the aim is to cycle as many everyday routes as possible for a period of 21 days and to be climate-friendly, i.e. zero emissions. During the competition, teams got on their bikes for their communities – to reduce traffic pollution, exhaust fumes, and noise.
So, it was no question this year when a Reifenhäuser team of 36 cyclists quickly found themselves biking on for the city of Troisdorf. In total, the 37 teams covered a distance of 39,720 kilometers in Troisdorf, saving about 6000 kg of carbon dioxide compared to cars. We are very happy about winning first place in the rankings for the city of Troisdorf: Our team rode a total of 9500 kilometers and collected the most kilometers.
That makes us a little proud, also because one of the three cyclists with the highest total kilometers belonged to our team: Tobias Jungbluth rode no less than 1141 kilometers. The idea to participate in CITY CYCLING came from Thomas Achten. "Personally, I find it very important to not only talks about climate protection but to be active. I try to cycle to work as often as possible. CITY CYCLING is great to create awareness for the carbon issue and to get people who normally prefer their cars on their bikes. When I was in the office promoting the campaign, some of my colleagues signed up immediately.”
By the way, a total of 542,686 people took part in the Climate Alliance's international campaign this year, setting an example for more climate protection, promoting the use of bikes for commuting, and raising the quality of life.
Running event in Worms: focus on fun factor and we-feeling
Sport and exercise are an ideal compensation for your job. That’s why we started the Reifenhäuser "Keep Fit" program with many offerings to promote better health. But it’s not all about fitness and best times. It’s also about a sense of community and having fun. Like our colleagues in Worms, who turn the annual “Nibelungen Run” into a team event and spend the day together with their families. Nonetheless, everything was different at the 17th Nibelungen Run in 2020 – because of Covid-19. Instead of canceling the event, the organizers turned it into a virtual World Wide Edition race. The principle was for each runner to run for himself or herself. No joint start. No finishing line. The participants ran their chosen route over three days at their chosen time and documented their running time online. But what was missing was the great atmosphere of a typical running event.
Marcus Weygand, Christian Stelter, and Pia Schäfer therefore planned their own routes for the Reifenhäuser team, including track marking with Reifenhäuser signposts and fans. The fans cheered them on loudly and distributed fruit and drinks. That's what you call team spirit when you can set up something like that despite Covid-19. Marcus Weygand hopes that everything will return to normal in 2021. We’ll cross our fingers for him!
German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW)
Most of the local projects we support are defined for the current fiscal year. However, we are pragmatic when necessary and promise support where it is needed. This is the case with the local group of Siegburg THW, which is dependent on donations after one of their emergency vehicles caught fire at the end of 2019. Oliver Schieferstein, Reifenhäuser employee and head of the THW office, remembers it well: "After an unsuccessful break-in attempt, the burglars set fire to one of our emergency vehicles, which unfortunately was parked in front of the vehicle hall. I was dumbstruck when I saw the wreckage. In 35 years of service, I have never experienced anything like this." The procurement and maintenance of THW vehicles is usually financed from federal budgets.
But not in this case. The burnt-out vehicle was purchased by the local association. In other words, donations and membership fees had been saved up for years. "This is an enormous loss," says Schieferstein, "because the vehicle was our command vehicle that our youth groups used regularly."
There is no money for a new vehicle, especially to buy the special equipment that includes technical features such as a special signaling system and walkie-talkies. Oliver Schieferstein is relieved that so many people responded to the appeal for donations and that over time enough money was collected for a new vehicle. "Thanks to Reifenhäuser's unbureaucratic and generous donation, we can purchase the vehicle at the beginning of next year. Then our fleet will be complete again."
