Conrad turns 100 – We, and the world, were celebrating at Wernberg!
Most of you have probably seen the content and pictures our team posted on LinkedIn: on July 15, Wernberg-Koeblitz was the centre of our Conrad-coloured universe. Because 1500 people from across the globe including Bavaria, Italy and Hong Kong, all working at Conrad, gathered in our company’s engine room also known as Conrad Logistics. On a normal day, it’s the place where we ship out orders to customers all over the word. On Saturday evening however, our warehouse facilities once more served as an event location. And, again, they absolutely rose to the occasion, hosting our company’s 100th anniversary celebrations. It was all about saying “thank you”, verbally and in the form of tokens. Thank you for 100 years of your commitment, and thank you for 100 years of being a family.
We all are looking back at the intoxicating atmosphere of this lavish event with very fond memories. Which is totally justified as being in business for 100 years is something we all have contributed to. This was something Dr Werner Conrad made very clear in the form of a symbolic gesture the moment he took the stage: he removed the badge with his name from the Bavarian Lion, the award he received from Dr Markus Soeder, First Minister of the State of Bavaria, on 21 June 2023, and replaced it with a badge showing the company name.
Fact is that our company isn’t a solitary lion. It’s a whole pride. And just like a pride, we at Conrad see ourselves as a family – as being pointed out by plenty of people that night. Among them Maximilian aged 18, the youngest of all attendees, who, when being interviewed at the event, quoted the family-like atmosphere here at our company as one of its strongpoints. The same sentiment was expressed by people in video clips shown on the eve: “I’m proud to be an employee here.” “To me, Conrad means open-mindedness.” “Conrad means family.” It’s hearing people say things like this that really gets to me, and that makes me come in to work every day.
It’s not just at work where we as a pride ensure things are running smoothly. Yes, you heard right: running. In the course of a month, 100 of you clocked a total of 19706 kilometres. That distance gets you to each country our company operates in, including to Hong Kong! A truly outstanding achievement that was honoured by our shareholders who donated 10 eurocent per kilometre. We at company management then doubled this sum, filling in and handing over the cheque on stage with everyone cheering. No surprise there, considering the scale of the task!
Moments like this show that our company and everyone working here aren’t just family. We are a family of people who are willing to put the effort in. This is demonstrated by the fact that our company recently stopped being a traditional electronics retailer and transformed itself into a B2B sourcing platform. The people employed here are both at the heart of, and the drivers behind, this transformation. They are the ones that make sure we succeed. This is also why I am not afraid of whatever the future holds in store for us. I see a future full of opportunities. We want to become the leading sourcing platform for technical supplies in Europe. And everyone working here will help us achieve this. In other words, we’ve got all parts of success.
Which is why we at Conrad Electronic wanted to express our gratitude in a way that goes beyond symbolic gestures. Means our shareholders agreed to allocate 5 million euros intended for our workforce in the form of vouchers – a token of our appreciation that went down very well and resulted in a massive round of applause. Same was true for our €100,000 prize draw, with coffee makers, travel vouchers, electric cars and a plethora of other things being up for grabs.
I’m really looking forward to our next knees-up, with fun, good food and dancing - which I’m sure will happen way before we celebrate our 200th anniversary! We earned it. Keep up the good work, everyone!
Yours sincerely
Ralf Bühler