BPW’s commitment to its employees has won several awards. Not only the employees themselves, but independent institutes also attest to the company’s outstanding performance when it comes to fairness, corporate culture and training. BPW doesn’t just take action at its Wiehl headquarters. It is also active in the Oberberg region and far-off destinations.
Helping children in Nepal
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Hats and scarves, pens, a hairbrush or a bar of soap – items which are part of everyday life for most people here in Germany are anything but ordinary for the 371 children living in the Nepalese mountain village of Rapcha. They live there with their families in the most primitive conditions. The village’s 2,000 inhabitants can only live on what they grow themselves. In partnership with the association Re:Help, the BPW works council launched a very special campaign: for ‘One box – one smile!’, BPW employees filled 378 care packages with supplies. With the help of the haulier OVERSEAS Logistic Services, the packages were taken to Rapcha and given to the beaming children at a special ceremony in February 2018. BPW subsidiaries also donated an additional €1,300 in total.
A sign of diversity
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Variety makes us strong – Wiehl stays diverse’ was the statement displayed on a huge banner on the high-bay warehouse at BPW’s headquarters in late 2017 – a sign of diversity, tolerance and openness. The message to the outside world was clear: in a company that employs people from 31 different countries, we do not tolerate any form of discrimination. ‘Wiehl is where we’re based, but Europe is our home – and our success is based on a strong European community,’ explained Achim Kotz, personally liable managing partner at BPW. ‘We treat all our employees equally – regardless of their gender, age, skin colour, culture, background, sexual identity, physical condition or religious affiliation.’
Donations to social organisations
BPW’s trainees organise the company’s annual BPW Christmas market all by themselves as volunteers. They always combine it with a large donation campaign supporting social organisations in the region. In addition to potato pancakes, spit roast skewers, mulled wine, biscuits and waffles, they also sell their own handmade fire baskets and fire pots, flowerpots, jewellery and much more. The proceeds from the 2017 Christmas market went to organisations including a hospice and a local meals-on-wheels service – four organisations received €5,000 each.
Break rooms for truckers
Hauliers pick up and drop off goods at the BPW logistics centre every day. To give drivers an alternative to sitting in their cabs during their mandatory breaks, BPW set up new break rooms over more than 80 square metres in mid-2017. Gate 1 is now home to a modern extension with toilets, showers and a lounge with a TV as well as coffee and snack machine. Truckers particularly enjoy the use of the heated spaces in winter.
Putting a lid on polio
Polio, also known as infantile paralysis, is considered eradicated in Western countries. In Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria, however, this infectious disease is still active. It leads to signs of paralysis and can also affect the airways, which can be fatal. Immunisation can prevent the disease and limit its spread in the long term.
As part of the ‘Put a lid on it’ project, BPW’s employees funded 480 polio immunisations in the countries affected. They collected 240,000 lids from beverage bottles and cartons. These consist of HDPE or PP plastics, are easy to recycle and are therefore a valuable raw material that is appropriately remunerated. The junior staff and trainee association (JAV) set up this initiative in support of the :metabolon research and innovation centre’s campaign. Containers for collecting the lids were set up at every gate at BPW’s premises in Wiehl, Hunsheim and Brüchermühle in early 2017, and the workforce got busy collecting lids throughout the campaign. Local organisations also helped out by donating lids.
An award-winning employer
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BPW has received awards time and time again for its strengths as an employer. In FOCUS-BUSINESS magazine’s ‘Best Fairness at Work’ ranking, the company received the highest score of all automotive suppliers in February 2018, thereby taking first place. The ranking took into account factors such as fair pay, company culture and support for older employees.
In the ‘Top Job’ employee survey, conducted anonymously and independently, BPW employees give their employer top marks for communication, development and prospects. Employees are uniquely loyal, with lower intentions to leave the company than in almost every other company examined by ‘Top Job’.
In April 2018, BPW was named one of the Germany’s best training companies, taking another top spot in Deutschland-Test’s ‘German Training Atlas’. It highlighted in particular how BPW closely interlinked its expertise in IT and mechatronics as a leader in the transport industry with company training, providing graduates with ideal preparation for their future careers in a highly innovative field.vorbereitet.