The Azubitalk event at Balve Secondary School and the visit of the Infotruck of the local employers' association are important opportunities for us to support young people in their career orientation. For several years now, we have been delighted to participate in the Azubitalk, which took place again today. Karl Nöcker, who is responsible for our apprenticeship program, and the two apprentices Hubert Jakubczyk and Liam Preuß, engaged in informal discussions with the secondary school students. At our stand, not only was live machining possible, but many questions about the various apprenticeships we offer were also answered. And when the impressive Infotruck visited us last week, dozens of students were able to get an idea of the opportunities in the metal and electrical industry and of us as a company. The Balver students were also there, as were students from the Hönnequellschule Neuenrade. It is important to us to provide information about apprenticeship opportunities at an early stage. After all, choosing the right apprenticeship can be the start of a successful career. In addition to good earning possibilities, we offer not only a varied and crisis-proof profession, but also plenty of opportunities for advancement and further training. We hope to see some of them again soon!

100 years of employment at the same company. Is that even possible? Yes, it is. Because when the two brothers Leonardo and Cataldo work for the same company for 55 and 45 years, together they achieve a unique and impressive 100 years of service. Today we celebrated this special anniversary. The two Italian De Luca brothers work full-time as machine operators, just as they did on day one. As highly reliable and competent employees, they are part of what we call the backbone of our company. As a token of our appreciation, they each received a full silver model of the machine they typically work on. And retirement? Not in sight for now. We say THANK YOU!

Perfect timing for the first honey harvest of the year. Thanks to the professional care of our beekeeper Louis Andree, our three bee colonies made it through their first winter very well and have recently visited the beautiful local rapeseed fields a lot. This will now also be reflected in the firm consistency and light color of the honey. We are already looking forward to tasting it!