In our hometown of Neuenrade, tradition, customs, and community life are important parts of our community. These things stay alive due to the people who carry them on. That’s why the Schützengesellschaft Neuenrade offers a children’s membership even to the youngest. This makes them part of the group that, in addition to many other activities, is responsible each year for ensuring that our biggest festivity - the Neuenrade Schützenfest - can be celebrated once again. Schützenfest is an event with a lot of history and tradition. Its roots date back to the medieval times, when every town had its own civil guards. Nowadays every village, town or city in our region is celebrating their own Schützenfest with people of all ages, music, beer and many traditional rituals. The Schützenfest of Neuenrade always takes place on the last weekend in July and begins as early as tomorrows Friday! As a small welcome gift, every child receives an adequate headpiece with their membership: their very own “Schützenschiffchen.” Our company now has donated enough of these little hats to the Schützengesellschaft Neuenrade, to cover the need of the next years. So let's get the party started!

A few days ago, our CEO Alexander Klinke went to Berlin for discussions. At a meeting with German Minister of Economic Affairs, Katherina Reiche, and just a few other entrepreneurs from our local region, the current challenges, that small and medium-sized companies have to face, were discussed. The generally difficult economic situation got addressed as well. Mrs. Reiche was very focused and well-informed, providing clear and objective answers to all the topics raised by her guests. It became clear once again that the minister is one of the most committed and articulate advocates of the free market in this administration. From Alexander Klinke’s perspective, the visit was very worthwhile for the entrepreneurs. All issues were discussed both critically and very openly, and the minister took them seriously.

This week we were visited by Bettina Lugk (MdB). Mrs. Lugk is the Member of the Bundestag for our local region and vice president of the Defense Committee. Following an in-depth tour of our facilities, we had ample time to discuss various political issues, some of which were controversial. We would like to thank Mrs. Lugk for her visit and wish her every success in addressing the many major issues facing our region and the Federal Republic of Germany.