Karl-Josef Laumann visits Wilo Group
State Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia learns about the "Future of Work" on-site
Karl-Josef Laumann, Minister for Labor, Health, and Social Affairs of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, visited Wilo, the Dortmund manufacturer of pumps and pump system solutions, today. As part of his Digital Tour 2019, he learned about the future of work in the context of digital transformation.
"The digital transformation is certainly one of the greatest challenges of our time. At Wilo, we have decided to see it as an opportunity," said Mathias Weyers, Chief Financial Officer of the Wilo Group. "We have positioned ourselves as a digital pioneer in the industry and are driving change not only in terms of products and solutions but also in terms of new business models and processes. This also applies to production." To establish the industrial value chain for the future, cooperation between society, science, economy, and politics is necessary: "Against this background, we are very pleased with the visit of the state minister, who has personally gained an impression of our idea of the 'Future of Work'," said Weyers.
"Wilo is shaping the future of work in the Ruhr region"
Karl-Josef Laumann praised the pioneering spirit of the technology specialist from Dortmund: "Wilo is a modern company in the traditional manufacturing industry, but it impressively manages to adapt to changing conditions," said the state minister. He particularly liked that Wilo is driving digital transformation in the former industrial region of the Ruhr: "The Ruhr region has strong companies, hardworking people, and many good ideas. Wilo, through its openness to change and its own innovative power, shows how we can shape the future of work in the Ruhr region."
Accompanying the change in the world of work
According to Christoph Hückelheim, Group Vice President Human Resources, the intensive support of the change in the world of work is of great importance for continuing this step successfully: "Despite all the digitization of work processes, employees will continue to be the focus of our business processes in the future," Hückelheim is certain. "Nevertheless, digital transformation will fundamentally change our lives and our work. Employees will have to work more in an increasingly complex, interdisciplinary, and interconnected context. Collaboration across departments, companies, and countries has become commonplace. It is a crucial task for us to professionally accompany the changed requirements for competency profiles and job roles," explained Hückelheim. To achieve this, Wilo launched the "Work 2020" project: Since 2017, employee representatives and management have sat down together and discussed what the changes of digital transformation mean for the employees. Numerous aspects were discussed in small groups: "Through dialogue, we have reached a good agreement for all parties involved, thereby securing the future to some extent," explained Daniela Mohr, Deputy Works Council Chair at Wilo.
Largest infrastructure construction project in North Rhine-Westphalia
At its Dortmund location, the Wilo Group is currently building the WiloPark, a completely new headquarters on a plot of land measuring 127,000 m2. In addition to administration, a Smart Factory is being built with a gross floor area of over 55,000 m2, according to Industry 4.0 standards. The WiloPark is currently the largest infrastructure construction project in North Rhine-Westphalia.
