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Whether Zarges, Bauer or Convotherm: companies rely on the skills of people with disabilities

2023-04-30T06:20:31.190Z


Companies in various sectors rely on the work of disabled people who are employed at the "Oberland Werkstätten" (OLW) in the Weilheim region. They take advantage of the opportunity to have production carried out in the OLW in Polling, but also the option of employing disabled workers directly.


Companies in various sectors rely on the work of disabled people who are employed at the "Oberland Werkstätten" (OLW) in the Weilheim region.

They take advantage of the opportunity to have production carried out in the OLW in Polling, but also the option of employing disabled workers directly.

Polling

- The business premises of the "Oberland workshops" in Polling are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year - just like the OLW in general.

For the local newspaper, this was the reason for a site visit.

Richard Weingartner (62) is sitting in his place in the metalworking department of the OLW in Polling.

During a visit to the press, he demonstrates how he routinely processes a workpiece that is only a few centimeters in size with a machine.

The man with a disability, who has been employed by OLW for 38 years, is completing an order from the company "Zarges" based in Weilheim.

In an assembly area, work is also being done for the aluminum processing company - employees with disabilities make handles there.

Face the challenges of the market

The fact that the workshops in Polling complete orders from well-known companies is due to their competitiveness, says OLW regional manager Hermann Soyer.

Relying solely on the willingness of other companies to do so is not a recipe for his non-profit operation.

This too must be able to cope with the challenges of the market.

In order to be attractive as a supplier, for example, the company now usually purchases the materials for customer orders itself - a task that requires a high level of expertise.

Richard Weingartner and his long-time colleagues Bernhard Lutz (39 years with the GmbH) and Leonhard Promberger (35 years), who are also disabled, seem satisfied when they talk about their time and their current work at the OLW in Polling.

"I like it a lot," says Weingartner.

He's part of a good team.

Making wreaths from artificial flowers was one of the first tasks

The fact that the OLW Polling site has existed since 1973 means that people with disabilities have been employed there for 50 years.

But the way in which this is done has changed over time, as Soyer points out.

In the beginning, it was all about finding employment for those affected after they left school.

One of the first jobs at the Polling site was to make wreaths from artificial flowers.

In the next phase of development, says Soyer, “challenging and promoting” was very popular with employees with disabilities.

The company worked more professionally than before and was already a full-fledged supplier.

In the 1980s, for example, the OLW in Polling was already equipped with a CNC machine for the process-reliable manufacture of complex workpieces by disabled people.

Employees have the opportunity to work for external companies

Another development was that of more participation and self-determination for employees with disabilities, as the regional manager explains.

In 1995, for example, the first workshop council was formed at the Polling site, which has its origins in a parents' initiative.

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The employees also celebrate the 50th anniversary of the workshops.

© OLW

Another important step followed a few years later: employees with disabilities were given the opportunity to work in other companies.

Today, in addition to such external individual jobs, there is also a successful company-integrated group in the OLW Region Weilheim: at the "Bauer" group of companies in the district town.

By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Weilheim-Penzberg newsletter.

However, the long-standing employees Weingartner, Promberger and Lutz have never worked externally.

"I don't want that at all," says Lutz.

According to Soyer, this attitude is more likely to be observed among older employees who are deeply rooted in the company.

Working externally, however, is definitely in demand: "The younger people often want it."

"Before Challenging Times"

The regional manager sees operations in Polling "ahead of challenging times".

While the area in which people with mental illnesses work will continue to grow, the same is not true for the rest of the workshops.

There, the new hires could not compensate for the number of workers who are retiring.

This is due to demographic change, but also to the fact that there is a strong desire today to employ people with disabilities on the regular labor market.

Soyer thinks this is a good approach in principle, as he says, but it is not yet possible to integrate everyone affected in the sector.

According to Soyer, another challenge for the OLW Region Weilheim is acquiring orders from customers from various sectors.

The regional manager proudly reports that the company currently produces around 400 different items for "Convotherm", but that he is also involved in the production of airbag backpacks for "Ortovox".

146 people work for the OLW Region Weilheim

146 people with disabilities are currently employed by the OLW in the Weilheim region (i.e. also in external jobs).

Most of them are active in the Polling site, where there is a wide range of activities - from woodworking to logistics/building services to the service sector.

Interested parties can find more information about the anniversary

of the OLW, which has seven other branches in addition to the one in Polling, online at https://50years.olw.de/.

Open day at the OLW in Polling

There will be an open day at the "Oberland Werkstätten" (OLW) in Polling on Friday, May 12, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Visitors can get to know the premises there.

A family program with a bouncy castle, magicians and more is planned.

There is also live music and food from a food truck.

There are guided tours from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

You can find more current news from the Weilheim-Schongau district at Merkur.de/Weilheim.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-04-30

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