Inclusion a daily reality at Krones

It's a real hive of activity in building 10.3 in Neutraubling, where about 100 employees are going about their day-to-day work at a wide range of stations. For four of them, this job has a very special significance – Ulla, Andree, Kevin and Christian have a disability, making the labour market much harder for them to access. Often, people with a handicap are unable to find employment in the general labour market and are reliant on workshops for the disabled or on other special organisations.

Ulla, a colleague who is employed by Regensburger Werkstätten, one such organisation, and has a job at a Krones external workplace, visibly enjoys her work – and performs it with the utmost conscientiousness. Even when it comes to posing for a photograph for the article, she only interrupts her work for a brief moment – and even then she has to be persuaded. “But then I’ll need to get back to it right away, okay?” she says firmly. She has been working for Krones since 2017, packing spare parts or doing other little jobs from 7.00 in the morning to 3.00 in the afternoon every working day. While bending over her workbench again, she adds: “I really love working here, and I’m proud of it too!” Nor is she ever at a loss for a flippant remark – on the question of how long she’ll be working today, her answer is usually just “till I’m done”.

A good atmosphere and human interaction

“Not only do the four colleagues enjoy their work, they are also extremely diligent,” says Tobias Fritsch, Head of Inbound Logistics and Technical Operations and the line manager for staff in the spare parts store. “They also add noticeably to the atmosphere in the building,” he adds with a laugh. The collaboration is something of a no-brainer – everyone knows what to do, there are clear processes and it all works very well. “This support is really important, particularly given our ever-increasing workloads.”

Krones has been using this model since 2017, starting off at the Rosenheim plant. The initial efforts to actively integrate people with disabilities into everyday working life ultimately proved successful. Martin Reitinger of the support organisation in Regensburg is thankful whenever companies say they are willing to take this step. “The ultimate goal is to find a place for them in the labour market, but this is not very easy to achieve,” he explains. Companies need to know what they are letting themselves in for, which means asking themselves the following questions, for instance: What sort of work is appropriate for these people? How can we best organise our working practices? How do we explain everything? “The line managers who then have to take charge of the disabled people are not teachers, after all. Things have to feel right at a human level, otherwise what's the point? When it works out, though, then they will learn how to do the work,” Reitinger adds. Krones manager Tobias Fritsch can only concur: “Of course there are some differences, and these colleagues can’t take on everything just like that – but the really positive thing you notice is the acceptance within the workforce. There are no employees who are negative towards them, everyone supports each other, and we’ve never had any problems with it.”