Accepting responsibility.

To anyone attending their first company meeting at Hauni, the gesticulations of the person standing next to the speaker’s desk may come as something of a surprise. The spoken words are being translated into sign language. The sizeable number of deaf employees at Hauni is a result of the initiative taken by Kurt A. Körber, the company’s founder. Long before a disabled-employee quota was made obligatory in German companies, he spearheaded efforts to introduce workplaces specially suited to the needs of the deaf.
This is just one amongst many examples showing that Körber was often far ahead of his time, technically and otherwise. Sustainability in thought and deed played amajor role in his activities as an entrepreneur.

FOCUS ON STAFF.
As early as 1947, a year after the company had been launched, 9 apprentices took up their training at Hauni. Just four years later their number had already increased to 23. This opportunity meant a glimmer of hope for young Germans amidst the hardships of post-war life. Today, with over 160 apprentices and students, Hauni is one of the largest industrial companies in Hamburg that offers vocational training. Nine full-time instructors and numerous training supervisors provide technical and multidisciplinary instruction to apprentices and students attending dual-study courses at a partner university or technical college. Training is available for jobs ranging from mechatronic or technical product designer to mechanical, electrotechnical or IT engineer. Work on a diploma thesis or an internship placing are amongst the ways in which students aspiring to careers in engineering or business can discover how the theory they have learned works in actual practice. Hauni also supports young members of staff who have shown outstanding talent in completing their vocational training by awarding bursaries that will allow them to continue their studies at university level. Apart from vocational training, the company provides ongoing further training courses for staff, a high-priority issue at Hauni. Employees interested in subjects from project management to intercultural skills or machine safety can choose from a wide range of training courses on work methods, communication, technical skills, languages, IT and many more.
“In a highly specialised firm like Hauni it’s important to train staff inhouse. Staff who are well-trained, motivated and loyal are the key to the success of the business,” says Dirk Kronenberg, Sustainability Manager at Hauni. Dr. Körber, Hauni’s founder, used to encourage staff to keep up the learning process alongside their work, quoting Socrates: “There is no disgrace in not knowing anything, there is however in not wanting to learn.” He actually went as far as to have that motto prominently placed on the wall of a building on the Hauni premises, and it is still there for everyone to see.
Apart from providing staff with vocational and further training, their physical wellbeing has also been a central theme at Hauni for many years. As early as 1948 Körber hired a company doctor to provide staff with regular checkups and preventative treatment. Today the company’s medical care unit offers services ranging from nutritional advice to annual influenza shots. To promote physical fitness, Hauni runs a varied sports programme available to employees in their spare time. Around 600 of the 2,000-strong workforce in Bergedorf swim regularly, play football, attend gymnastics classes to strengthen their back muscles, train for the next dragon boat race or for the Hamburg Cyclassics, Europe’s biggest cycle race for amateurs. With such a choice of services from sports to further training and medical care, Hauni staff feel the company takes good care of them. Their appreciation is borne out by longer-than-average terms of employment.

LIVING SUSTAINABILITY BY EXAMPLE.
Maintaining a balance between social and economic aspects whilst taking a responsible approach to sustainability and society is a philosophy that forms an integral element of Hauni’s long-term corporate strategy. Besides striving to ensure the best possible product quality, developers never lose sight of the need to conserve resources, both in the production process and in the product itself. Hauni’s objective is to keep improving technologies in terms of sustainability.