Jubilee ceremonies 2022

Due to Corona, the celebrations had been suspended for two years. Due to the large number of jubilarians, two festive evenings were held in the auditorium of Aalen University. In July, 224 jubilarians already received their ceremonial honours there. Now the second celebration took place, at which Dr. Jochen Kress, President of the MAPAL Group, thanked a further 220 employees for their loyalty and strong commitment to the company. "MAPAL benefits from your commitment and your skills. Only with you, our committed employees, can we achieve our goals," Kress emphasised. 

The President gave the jubilarians an insight into the current developments at MAPAL. In the past three years, the company has been exposed to strong influences, said Kress, mentioning the decline in production in the automotive industry in connection with the semiconductor crisis, followed by Brexit, the Covid pandemic, disrupted supply chains and the shortage of skilled workers. Other challenges, such as the impact of the war in Ukraine, inflation and climate change, would be added. "The world has changed a lot and we have set out to deal with these crises," Kress said. Through a stability programme and various initiatives, he said MAPAL has managed to secure liquidity, albeit with some painful cuts. 

"We have used this phase to reposition ourselves," said Kress. MAPAL is committed to driving forward its involvement in focus industries such as e-mobility, aviation, tool and mould making and general mechanical engineering. To this end, product and market segment management has been introduced and various initiatives launched. MAPAL is investing in new products and the expansion of brand trading, the company has opened a web shop and achieved improvements in delivery reliability and stock availability. These efforts are beginning to show results, Kress summed up: "MAPAL finished 2021 well and the first half of 2022 went decently, despite all the uncertainties we perceive." However, he said it was difficult to make a prediction for developments in the next one to two years. "How strongly inflation and the war in Ukraine will affect the economy is difficult to assess at the moment," Kress says. Positive signals are coming from the automotive and aerospace industries, the order books of the companies are full. In the coming months, MAPAL will continue to work consistently and with high intensity to be successful at all levels. 

In this context, those responsible have also adapted the organisational structures. With Dr. Karin Jenuwein as the new CHRO, MAPAL is anchoring personnel management at the highest level. A sign of appreciation to the employees, "for the same reason that we are celebrating and honouring you, our anniversaries, today", affirmed Kress.