A thoroughly sporty company cares about the fitness of the whole team.

Family Minister von der Leyen visits model entrepreneur Gisela Pieron

When Gisela Pieron became Entrepreneur of the Year, the Minister for Family Affairs, Ursula von der Leyen, visited the Bocholt company. There she gave a speech on the topic "Success factor family - strategy for social and economic growth" in front of about 500 people. At this event, Gisela Pieron also gave a speech on how she, as an entrepreneur, ensures that her employees can have a family and continue their careers at the same time

Gisela Pieron (left) in conversation with

Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen

If a company is concerned with indestructible feathers - those made of steel and not, for example, with the beautiful plumage of birds - then it is not so far-fetched to think that the resilience and elasticity of the musculature, namely that of the employees, should also be addressed.

So when Gisela Pieron, Managing Partner of Pieron GmbH, was chosen as Bocholt's Entrepreneur of the Year in May 2005, she pondered for quite a while what to do with the 5,000 euros in prize money. It had to be something meaningful and sustainable - and, above all, it had to benefit the whole team, because the more than 200 men and women who now work in the workshops and offices on the Schlavenhorst industrial estate are the company's greatest asset.

Should one invest in further training? "But we do that anyway," said the boss. She was right, because the company is currently training 15 excellent apprentices. The solution was finally found: A fitness room was needed, equipped with the best machines available on the market.

No sooner said than done. A large room was found that could be renovated for this purpose. And it was filled with two cross-trainers - those machines that trim arms and legs at the same time - two multitrainers for muscle building and two bicycle ergometers. Since the beginning of 2007, as the entry book confirms, there has been a lot of activity here during breaks and after work. Perhaps new fitness tools will soon be added - the health-conscious staff and their boss are still faced with the difficult choice between a treadmill and a rowing machine.

Pieron GmbH is a sporty company through and through. The company's own football team regularly takes to the pitch in their smart shirts for tournaments - with not only the men kicking, but also young ladies outsmarting the opposing defence. The Pieron team is a welcome guest at numerous charity and disability tournaments. In this case, the apple does not fall far from the tree, as Hans-Dieter Ernst, chairman of the works council, trains a team of mentally and physically handicapped people in his spare time.

The sporting activities do not stop in winter, for then the employees are taken out on the ice, so to speak, and prove themselves in curling - a sport that one would rather expect to find in Bavaria than where the Westmünsterland region crosses into the Lower Rhine region.

Gisela Pieron is naturally pleased that the fitness room has been so well received. But her initiative for the health and well-being of the staff is far from exhausted: "Next we will offer a free medical check-up where everyone can recognise their physical fitness - and which at the same time provides warning signals if there are deficits here". By the way, the boss assures us that the employer will not see any of the results: "This is solely for personal health care.

When the award was presented at the time, it was said that Pieron's "lived and exemplified corporate culture" was particularly emphasised, and this also includes exemplary family friendliness.

This is no wonder, as the managing partner knows from her own experience what it is like to have to raise and mother three children in addition to the responsible work in the company. The sons have all turned out well: Sven and Björn are integrated in the company, Lars has successfully set up his own business.

No wonder, then, that on 17 October, Federal Minister for Family Affairs Ursula von der Leyen visited the Bocholt-based company, which supplies the whole world with its stamped and wire-bent parts for the electrical and electronics industries, compression, torsion and double leg springs, as well as tension rings for the automotive industry and springs for sports and leisure equipment.

In front of an audience of almost 500 people, the Minister spoke on the topic of "Success Factor Family - Strategy for Social and Economic Growth" in the materials delivery hall, which had been emptied for the occasion.

The CDU district association of Borken had invited to the event.

Gisela Pieron talked about how she ensures in her company that none of her employees have to give up their jobs because there are small children to look after in the family. The company not only trains women in so-called male professions, but also thinks deeply about the compatibility of work and family. For example, there is the possibility of a home or telecommuting workplace and both working and break times can be arranged individually.

A common kindergarten with other companies in the industrial area is also currently being considered. Meeting the individual needs of mothers is a central concern for Gisela Pieron.

In her address, Federal Minister for Family Affairs von der Leyen stated that it is society's task to make it possible for families to reconcile education and work. Most young people want children, von der Leyen stressed, yet Germany has one of the lowest birth rates in the world because children make life more difficult.

When it comes to the proportion of women with children who work, for example, the country is far behind in a European comparison. According to the minister, the framework conditions must change. At least the "European standard" in terms of kindergarten places, with a supply rate of 35 per cent, should be achieved.

Von der Leyen pointed out that the economy could benefit in many ways from making it easier to reconcile family and work. As far as the company kindergarten in the Bocholt industrial area is concerned, von der Leyen offered support: Starting in 2008, the Ministry of Family Affairs will provide start-up funding for the first two years of such projects.

Afterwards, however, the Minister, CDU District Deputy Chair Martina Schrage, Gisela Pieron and IHK President Hans Dieler discussed the topic of "family and career" under the moderation of Dr. Norbert Tiemann, Editor-in-Chief of the Westfälische Nachrichten.

Rainer Rehbein, UVG