There was great joy among the owner family, the company management board and the retirees at the KIPP Group retiree meeting at the HEINRICH KIPP WERK in Holzhausen. The HEINRICH KIPP WERK as well as KIPP Car Comfort Systems in Sulz-Kastell had invited their former employees to this event. HEINRICH KIPP WERK and KIPP Car Comfort Systems are two of six companies in the KIPP Group, which employs a total of more than 950 people at 30 locations in Europe, North America and Asia.
As soon as they arrived, there were warm hugs and joyful expressions - after all, many of the retirees and the owner family had not seen each other for several years in some cases. Heinrich Kipp and his son Nicolas welcomed the retirees. There were many stimulating conversations during the day and the excitement was evident - the retirees were welcomed into the new logistics center, which amazed the former KIPP employees right from the start. During the subsequent company presentation, Nicolas Kipp focused on the developments of the KIPP Group and the HEINRICH KIPP WERK. Alexander Kruppa, Managing Director of KIPP Car Comfort Systems, focused on the growth and the associated product innovations. It was precisely these products that excited the predominantly vehicle-savvy former colleagues. "It is really impressive what has been developed here" said a former employee Willy Harpain, representing many astonished faces. The retirees were particularly impressed by the increasing internationalization, the continuous expansion of the product range and the consistent digitalization of the KIPP Group, which Nicolas Kipp was able to demonstrate in an extremely exciting manner.
During the subsequent tour, everyone was able to experience this at first hand in the form of new buildings, a more advanced high-tech machine park and an introduction to strategic KIPP Group management tools. Especially the strong focus on the increasingly decisive topic of leadership was not only perceived through the leadership instruments "Strategy House", "CIP Boards" (Continuous Improvement Process), "Shopfloor" and "5S" during the tour, but also intensively discussed. The decisive basis for this: actively acting on and demanding the corporate values of responsibility, dynamics and fairness on a daily basis. The retirees were enthusiastic about the employee commitment in the form of signatures of all employees on the newly created KIPP Group value wall. "A symbol of collective understanding" said Harpain accurately.
Also of special importance was the mutual reunion of former colleagues, which was given sufficient space during the tour.
Afterwards, a rich cake buffet was prepared in the company restaurant. A presentation of pictures of the past decades initiated by Heinrich Kipp generated exciting anecdotes - everyone had stories to share. With great pleasure, the retirees reminisced together with the owner family and the company management board. With another bite to eat as well as the presentation of gifts a memorable day for all came to an end.
This special event will be repeated in regular intervals. The retirees of the KIPP Group are already convinced that they will be able to witness more of what will be created in the future.