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St. Nicholas coffee event at the Arntz Optibelt Group

The Arntz Optibelt Group’s traditional St. Nicholas coffee event took place for former employees and this year’s jubilee colleagues on 6 December. The prizewinners of the company suggestion scheme were also honoured.

Höxter, 6 December 2018. Acting on behalf of the management, Reinhold Mühlbeyer - Chairman of the Group’s Management Board - welcomed the numerous guests once they had fortified themselves with coffee and cake. Using press publications, Reinhold Mühlbeyer led the attendees through the year 2018 of the Arntz Optibelt Group and highlighted key milestones in the company’s development.

In 2017, the Group set a new turnover record of EUR 272 million, significantly increasing its turnover by 12.5 per cent compared to the previous year. Mühlbeyer also gave a rundown of the current figures and projections, but further pointed out the challenges the company was facing in 2018, something that will require considerable effort in the coming year.

Over the next few years, EUR four million are to be invested in the renewal and modernisation of rubber compound production at the Group’s headquarters in Höxter.

Already in June, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the construction of the new headquarters of the Optibelt subsidiary Tecnamic GmbH & Co. KG, which will be relocated from Arnsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia to nearby Werl. Operation is scheduled to commence there in July 2019.

Optibelt constantly invests in its employees. Jakob Deutschmann, who began his training at Optibelt in Höxter in 2014, was awarded the title of Best Apprentice for Mechatronics a few days ago in Berlin. The Group also offers a company bicycle leasing scheme, which is proving to be extremely popular.

The current product developments and worldwide trade fair presentations of the Group were of particular interest to the former employees. Mühlbeyer presented a technological success to the audience – the new optibelt SUPER XE-POWER PRO M=S. This maintenance-free wedge belt makes it possible to design particularly compact drive units, such as those in fans, pumps or drilling machines.

Managing Director Reinhold Mühlbeyer expressed his gratitude to all employees, he especially thanked the jubilee attendees for their many years of loyalty to the company and their dedicated cooperation and wished all those present a Merry Christmas.

Continuous improvement of all processes
Frank P. Rinno, Head of Human Resources, then took over and paid tribute to the winners of the company suggestion scheme. ‘Continuous improvement and the constant refinement of standards and processes make a vital contribution to the success of the Group,’ says the HR Manager. The winners of the annual special prize draw were randomly selected from all employees who had proposed improvements under the Arntz Optibelt Group’s 2018 company suggestion scheme. The special prizes were drawn in a tombola on 9 November 2018; these are not based on whether a suggestion for improvement was implemented or not. The winners of this year’s prize draw were recognised as part of the St Nicholas coffee event:

  • 1st prize: Fabian Beckmann
  • 2nd prize: Kai Ginzel
  • 3rd prize: Werner Bollmann

Distinction for long-standing employees
In 2018, the Arntz Optibelt Group saw a total of 35 employees celebrating their company anniversary. Eight of them look back on 40 years of service at the company headquarters in Höxter: Christel Bohlmann, Detlef Fleischer, Peter Gähring, Axel Grote Johannes Kieneke, Michael Kupschus, Paul Marx and Christian Schaper.

Three employees who joined the Group in 1993 look back on a quarter of a century of service: Christina Grothe, Viktor Kuhn as well as Karin Wöhning.

Seventeen other employees have been working at the headquarters of the Arntz Optibelt Group for at least ten years: Markus Buhl, Tobias Dierkes, Julian Felux, Matthias Hölker, Rainer Kirchhoff, Pascal Kleine, Anne Knocke, Heiko Lange, Sören Mende, Thorsten Moreau, Stephan Oebbeke, Florian Reinhard, Marc Schädler, Sebastian Seibt, Stefan Steiner, Teresa Ulrich, Dominik Wehner.

The afternoon ended in a pre-Christmas atmosphere with conversations, Stollen cake and Spekulatius biscuits.

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Nikolauskaffee der Arntz Optibelt Gruppe 2018
Ehrung langjähriger Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter