"I want to work here until I'm 65": Andreas Schnell (center) with (from left) Sylvia Wagner, trainee at the Pfennigparade, S&W Managing Director Bernd Gattinger, Pfennigparade administrative employee Nils Haberzettl, job coach Marc Pfefferkorn and Susanne Schmidt, authorized signatory Pfennigparade. © NORBERT HABSCHIED
The workshop for people with disabilities in Unterschleissheim has brought together its most productive employees in a field service group. The team has been working at S&W for six years.
Hebertshausen/Unterschleißheim – Dominik Faralisz takes two plastic spirals out of a tub and looks at the ends with a scrutinizing eye. Then he brings them together with a skilful wave of his hand. The plastic parts snap into place and are connected. "You have to get the hang of it," says the 38-year-old, smiling nonchalantly.
Dominik Faralisz is an employee of the Pfennigparade in Unterschleissheim. The field service group is outsourced to S&W in Hebertshausen. Thanks to the inclusive orientation of the medium-sized company, Faralisz had a free choice in 2017: to continue working in the protective workshop or on the primary job market at S&W? "I've always wanted to work somewhere other than the workshop," he says. "When it was said that we were going to open a group, I wanted to be part of it immediately." The probationary period lasted seven weeks, "and the first week was very exhausting."
Genuine craftsmanship
The plastic parts manufacturer S&W has 100 employees. He produces for the automotive, electrical and ski industries. While the machines in the hall next door run day and night and the employees produce parts for Porsche, Webasto or Abus in three shifts, here the six employees of the Pfennigparade have to go without pressure to perform.
A radio blares softly. The men refine plastic parts by hand for the motorhome outfitter Truma in Putzbrunn. Everyone has a different task. Job coach Marc Pfefferkorn accompanies the well-rehearsed team. He designs the work steps and supports the employees individually. For the two managing directors of S&W, he is the contact person and link. And sometimes he has to turn down an assignment that is too difficult, in the interests of the six men with physical or other limitations.
"They also take a bit of the pressure off here"
Managing Director Bernhard Gattinger calls the cooperation with the Pfennigparade workshop a "win-win situation". "They are valuable and very reliable employees. We have had the best experience," says the mechanical engineer and business economist. The field service group contributes greatly to the good climate in the company. People meet for a break in the social room or at company parties. People are motivated. "They also take a bit of the pressure off here," says Gattinger.
From Monday to Thursday, Marc Pfefferkorn travels with the field service group from Unterschleissheim to Hebertshausen. From 10 a.m. to 15 p.m., the six employees work in a highly concentrated manner. "It quickly developed superbly," Pfefferkorn looks back: "With their friendly demeanor and reliability, they convinced our employees."
"It's still as much fun as it was in the beginning": Ralf Guthendorff has been part of the field service group for six years. © NORBERT HABSCHIED
Andreas Schnell pushes small plastic sleeves over three knobs of a transparent round plastic part. It will later cover a light on the motorhome ventilation. The 59-year-old has his workplace in the middle of the room and is responsible for quality control. He skillfully works exclusively with his left hand, the right is paralyzed in his lap.
The cooperation with S&W was initiated by Susanne Weiß. She is the plant manager and authorized signatory of the Unterschleissheim workshop: "One of our main tasks is to find a job on the primary labor market for people who want it." The goal is inclusion and participation. "This can only be achieved in cooperation with companies, as here with S&W." The company wants to assume social responsibility. S&W has hired six other severely disabled employees on a permanent basis. "Inclusion is also a location factor," says Gattinger. At the same time, medium-sized companies are under severe cost pressure. "Our goal is automation where possible." But where manual work is necessary, they work together with the workshop of the Pfennigparade.
"I want to work here until I'm 65"
The supplier company S&W competes in a tough industry, it is also about effectiveness and low costs. "The follow-up contract for the ventilation has been awarded to Thailand," reports Gattinger, where wages are lower.
Each employee of the field service group receives 400 euros. The men are remunerated through the Pfennigparade. A charity? "No," says Susanne Schmidt, rather a compromise. It is about self-determined quality of life. "On the one hand, we are ultimately fulfilling a rehabilitation measure by empowering our people for the primary labor market." On the other hand, other supports, such as basic security, would be cancelled as soon as the employees of the workshop earned more. Anyone who no longer fills their workplace here can return to the protective workshop at any time.
The model of the field service group would like to expand the Pfennigparade. At present, however, the federal government and trade associations are also discussing completely new employment models, says Susanne Schmidt.
Andreas Schnell places each sleeve on the mold and places it in a box after testing. "Everyone here has to think along and sometimes practice new things," says the 59-year-old: "I would like to continue working in this company until I am 65 years old!"
You can find more news from the district of Munich here.
