After 48 years with the company, two true veterans leave the ship. Jürgen Michel made it from apprentice to plant manager and has thus carved out an incomparable career
Creglingen. Jürgen Michel and Gerold Berg started their impressive careers at Wirthwein in Creglingen when they were just 15 and 16 years old respectively. On August 16, 1976, both began their apprenticeships at the company under the management of Walter Wirthwein: Jürgen Michel as a toolmaker, Gerold Berg as a metalworker. The company was still small back then, with just one site and around 60 employees. The duo has accompanied and influenced the development of the company over the past 48 years. On July 31, Jürgen Michel took his well-deserved retirement, followed by Gerold Berg on August 27, 2024.
To say goodbye, Jürgen Michel invited his colleagues to the new Wirthwein canteen. His invitation, which begins with the words “As you know, my last working day in ‘my’ company is approaching”, shows his deep attachment to the company. He expresses his special thanks to Ingrid and Marcus Wirthwein as well as posthumously to Udo Wirthwein, who placed great trust in him in his younger years: “He gave me great confidence in my younger years and with the drive of each and every one of you, we were able to achieve so much,” says Michel.
Jürgen Michel's career is truly impressive: after passing his master craftsman's examination in 1988, he took over as head of toolmaking. From then on, he was entrusted with a wide range of tasks, from founding new subsidiaries to supervising plant expansions at the headquarters in Creglingen. His outstanding performance led to promotions to Technical Manager and finally to Plant Manager. In an interview for the employee magazine last year, he explained: “I was always needed and had numerous and varied tasks. I wasn't just the toolmaker, I was always responsible for everything, I always felt valued.”
The high regard for Jürgen Michel was also evident at the most recent management meeting in June, where he was honored by his plant manager colleagues with a gift basket.
At the official farewell ceremony on July 31, 2024, Marcus Wirthwein thanked him on behalf of the family and the entire group of companies for his outstanding work over the past 48 years. The works council and colleagues also joined in the words of thanks and presented a farewell gift including a collage of pictures. The gifts were of course also based on the hobbies of the 63-year-old Riedenheimer. As a passionate hunter and breeder of hunting dogs, Jürgen Michel is well known in the region. His three grandchildren are also looking forward to spending more time with their grandpa.
After training as a metalworker, Gerold Berg worked in toolmaking for a while. Around 40 years ago, he switched to the metalworking shop, where he has worked ever since. For many years, he looked after the steam engine, which was used for heating and power generation, and sharpened the saw blades for the sawmill. He was on site when the sites in Brandenburg and Nauen were set up in the 1990s. After the sawmill was closed, he switched completely to maintenance in the plastics department. Gerold Berg had a very varied range of tasks over the many decades, which he always completed with the highest level of expertise thanks to his independent way of working and incomparable experience. Now that he has retired, the 64-year-old from Creglingen is looking forward to spending more time with his two grandchildren and his hobby of woodturning. Extensive motorhome tours are also on the wish list of the “new pensioner” in the near future.
We wish Jürgen Michel and Gerold Berg a well-deserved and fulfilling retirement and are sure that they will always remain closely associated with Wirthwein.
