355 years – that’s how long the 21 staff members, who were honoured at the anniversary celebration in mid-February, have been with Knobis. “There are 1,000 opportunities on the job market, and it makes us very proud that we have so many wonderful people here who feel at home with us and choose to stay,” explained our owner and managing director, Jürgen Zahn, to the staff. As a token of appreciation, Jürgen, together with the other managing director, Klaus Hummel, called the long-serving staff members from various departments to the front to deliver a very personal – and in some cases deeply moving – speech. Among them was Gerti Seeberger – our longest-serving female Knobi employee!
When Gerti thinks back to her early days at Knoblauch, she can’t help but smile. “We lived next door to Konni Knoblauch’s joinery workshop in Efrizweiler,” she explains, “and when my two children were of school and nursery age, I simply popped over and asked Konni if he could use me for a few hours a week.”
Sawing, gluing, milling
That was in 1988. The small joinery had a major order from the Schleicher company in Markdorf: plywood boxes for document shredders. “I spent my hours sawing them out and gluing them together,” reports the trained garment maker. Eventually, the big order for the document shredder boxes was completed. Gerti stayed on. “Konni said to me: ‘Now you’re off to the metal workshop. And if you do a good job, we’ll keep you on!’”
Gerti sawed, drilled and milled. And in 1994, she was finally given a permanent contract. That’s why the company’s 30th anniversary is only being celebrated now. Alongside her, 20 other employees were honoured for 10, 15 and 20 years of service – but no other woman has been with the company as long as Gerti.
Incidentally, Gerti spent her very first Christmas party in the Knoblauch family’s living room. The daughters played music, and there was a lovely meal. “These days, there’s no way we’d all fit into a living room!” says Gerti with a laugh. From ten to 240 employees – Gerti was there as the small village joinery transformed into a medium-sized company.
“I often wonder what Konni would say about what’s become of his joinery. But I’m sure of one thing: he’d love it here!” Gerti Seeberger
After the first anniversary speeches, we headed to Konnis, our staff canteen. The kitchen team had conjured up a very special four-course menu: Beetroot carpaccio with lemon and walnut vinaigrette, basil soup with Parmesan, roast beef with a coffee and pepper crust, green pepper sauce, yeast croquettes and caramelised carrots. And to finish, a rosemary panna cotta with a passion fruit glaze! Sounds good, doesn’t it?
In between, there were further tributes, fascinating conversations and plenty of laughter. And once again, it became clear: for so many people here, work is simply more than just a job! Thank you.
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