30 Dialog with our Stakeholders
Mr. Krützen, how important in your experience are local
site factors and having a sufficient number of local employees
and suppliers?
Klaus Krützen: Extremely important! In many companies,
people from Grevenbroich and the Rhine district of Neuss constitute
the core group of employees. And when contracts are
awarded local needs are considered to view the region as a whole
and to strengthen it. We in Grevenbroich can say that the
cooperation with companies is very good. This is reflected by the
fact that both big and small companies generate considerable
value locally.
Dr. Sawitowski, what role do the company’s regional roots
play for its long-term success?
Dr. Thomas Sawitowski: Our company is successful locally. One
reason is that despite our international orientation we have
local roots. An example is our employees. Around 90 percent of
our staff lives within a radius of 20 kilometers. And some of
our employees are third-generation ACTEGA Rhenania staff members.
We are quite proud of this great allegiance! And it is
very important for us, because our company’s success depends
in large part on having loyal, qualified employees. That’s why
we are investing strongly in staff training and education. We have
a high trainee rate, seven percent.
Isn’t it difficult to get enough young talents interested in
a region that is undergoing structural change …
Klaus Krützen: … presumably you are alluding to the fact that
Grevenbroich is closely associated with lignite?
That’s right.
Klaus Krützen: But that is no longer the reality found here. Our
residential and leisure value can certainly hold their own against
those of other cities and regions. Grevenbroich is a green city. Life
here is rural and rustic, but thanks to the excellent infrastructure
people can reach big cities quickly. So it’s important to me that we
take a closer look at the region in our discussion. Then you will
see that we are well linked to different airports and have an outstanding
infrastructure. These are valuable assets.
Where do you see potential for action?
Dr. Thomas Sawitowski: First, I would like to point out that we
have been at this location for more than 100 years. At this site,
we successfully create value for customers, employees, our owner,
and the entire company. We develop and manufacture a num-
ber of products that people come into contact with on a daily
basis. An example is our special coatings for coffee capsules.
By the way, with our new customer technical center we now
offer our customers the opportunity to test new packaging
trends locally.
How many employees can the new laboratory building
accommodate?
Dr. Thomas Sawitowski: Of the 150 employees at the site,
initially around 50 will carry out their work there. Thanks to the
ideas that will be developed in our new laboratory building,
in the future, too, we will be able to sustain our position on the
world market from Grevenbroich. This should not be taken for
granted, and we can’t rest on our laurels. For example, the city
has grown closer and closer to us. Today, we at ACTEGA
Rhenania are even integrated in a residential environment, which
poses new challenges such as noise pollution from truck traffic.
But we are finding solutions to such challenges, as we did in the
past. We continue to believe in the site. Having said that, I
must add that it is becoming harder and costlier to implement
measures to expand the site. Because there are more and more
hurdles on the way to implementation.
As a local politician, is your main task to mediate between
companies and citizens?
Klaus Krützen has been the mayor of the city of Grevenbroich
since November 2015. Previously he worked as a teacher and a
school principal.
Dr. Thomas Sawitowski has been the managing director of
ACTEGA Rhenania GmbH since October 2013. Before that, he
worked for BYK-Chemie GmbH and thus for one of the ALTANA
Group’s four divisions.