In December last year, Dr h.c. Jörg-Uwe Hahn, Vice President of the Hessian state parliament, visited a global manufacturer of industrial fittings. Accompanied by Christopher Hachenberg, the local chairman of the FDP-Altenstadt, he exchanged views on current political and economic affairs.
The Managing Partner of OHL Gutermuth, Wolfgang Röhrig, informed the two Liberals that the company can look back on a history of over 150 years in the manufacture of industrial valves. The target groups for the valves are shipbuilding, the chemical industry and plant engineering.
“As a global company with operations in the Gulf region and China, among others, I see time and again how over-bureaucratised the German market unfortunately is. This naturally leads companies to carefully calculate whether Germany is the most efficient location for them”, says Röhrig.
Focus on trainees
A few years ago, OHL Gutermuth decided to train its own apprentices again. “Of course, training involves costs and time, but ideally we end up with a highly trained specialist who can operate our complex machines”, says Röhrig.
The company also works together with local universities to convince young people to take up the profession. The Vice President of the state parliament expressly praised this approach. “I have always been an advocate of dual vocational training. A few years ago, I was one of the people responsible for the Technical University of Central Hesse opening a site in Bad Vilbel. Education is the key to social participation.”
