The route leads along the Volme to Schalksmühle, where JUNG’s company headquarters are located. Surrounded by colorful autumn leaves, the NIRO members’ meeting took place there on November 6, 2023. After a brief welcome from our Board Spokesman Jens te Kaat, Martin Herms, Managing Director Innovation and Operations at JUNG, welcomed the guests and introduced the company together with Dirk Wettlaufer, Head of Operations at JUNG and NIRO Board Member. JUNG was founded by Albrecht Jung in 1912 – not far from the current location. The success story of the young company began with a technical innovation: a pull switch with a 1/8 turn enabled a particularly short actuation path. This principle still forms the basis of all JUNG switch designs. Albrecht Jung and his later partner Ernst Paris put the company on the road to success. Today, in the third generation, JUNG is known worldwide for timeless design and future-oriented building technology. JUNG products create atmospheric light, offer solutions for shading, climate control, energy and security, handle door communication and are multimedia. Aesthetic design and smart technology merge in a future-oriented way – closely linked with a sustainable claim that is reflected in products that are Cradle to Cradle Certified®. JUNG combines its administration, development center and production in Schalksmühle. There is also a modern training center and an impressive showroom as an exhibition area to see and feel the intelligent and aesthetic solutions from JUNG and to learn more about the technical innovations of advanced building control. The guided tour of the company, which traditionally takes place before the members’ meeting, also began there. In three groups, the participants were given interesting insights into JUNG’s production. JUNG’s products are manufactured in a highly automated process based on lean principles. Robot-supported assistance systems, flexible production lines, ergonomic workstations and automated high-bay warehouses impressed the visitors during the informative tour of the production facilities.
New member and the 2023 network work After the tour of the production facility, our 17th members’ meeting began. Our Managing Director Ingrid Lange presented what the network work looked like this year and which topics and priorities were set. The new member company Ventilatorenfabrik Oelde GmbH from Oelde, known for innovative air technology and the solutions and components required for this, was welcomed. 2023 had a varied range of events in store for the member companies: NIRO hosted around 104 events this year, both online and in person. In addition to traditional working group meetings and exchanges of experience, we also held numerous information events. Our sustainability working group reached its first milestone and was able to secure the results of the work of the individual project groups in the form of a results brochure. The second round of the working group has been active since October 2023 in four new project groups: (sustainability) strategy, sustainable procurement with a focus on risk analysis, digital product passport and management systems with a focus on ISO 14001. 15 of our member companies are taking part. There is also a new round in the qualification series for sustainability reporting in accordance with the DNK standard (German Sustainability Code). The proWeiterbildung PLUS project, which we are working on together with WFG Kreis Unna, has achieved further milestones. The competence models are available for download here. Ingrid Lange reported on current developments in the NIRO purchasing pool, which 67 of our 77 member companies are currently actively using. The current and future partner for the electricity pool 2024 is E.ON Energie Deutschland GmbH. As a new partner, Integrity Next GmbH has been supporting NIRO members with its cloud-based sustainability management solution since the beginning of November. The new tender topics for the purchasing pool will be the electricity pool 2025, the natural gas pool 2025 and operating resources from 2024. Our network organization was awarded the ECEI Silver Label for its networking activities for the second time in a row. Our member companies that have been loyal to NIRO for 12 years were also honored. This year, these were Albert Westebbe Drahtwarenfabrik GmbH & Co KG, Diagramm Halbach GmbH & Co KG, Künstler Bahntechnik GmbH and Stahlwerk Unna GmbH & Co KG.
The NIRO strategy with a view to the future The new strategic direction of our network work was one of the focal points of this year’s general meeting. Ingrid Lange reviewed the steps that were necessary on the way to the adapted strategy, starting with the development of the mission statement and the definition of NIRO’s mission in close coordination with the NIRO Board. In a total of four workshops, a common image was developed that describes the future network work. In the three areas of opportunity “Working together”, “Sharing knowledge” and “Buying together”, interdisciplinary topics are addressed and sustainability, digitalization and innovation are always taken into account. Overall, this describes our development away from fields of action towards cross-functional subject areas. Our NIRO goals have not changed. The focus is still on strengthening the community by creating proximity and exchange, enabling and organizing innovation through encounters and intensifying professional relationship management.
Impressions from the 2023 General Meeting
NIRO would like to thank the JUNG host team. It was a perfectly prepared members’ meeting, including interesting tours of the production facilities, which left a lasting impression of how aesthetically pleasing, functional and up-to-date our lives can be – and a delicious buffet included!
