Learning for the future

True quality starts not in the products, but in the people. BITZER has therefore been investing in the education and advanced training of its employees for a number of years. Its commitment is paying off. The growing significance of electronic components, digitalization and environmental and energy-efficiency regulations such as the F-gas Regulation and the European Ecodesign Directive are causing the requirements that refrigeration and air conditioning systems must meet to become ever stricter. As a global player, BITZER manufactures its products for all operating conditions and takes the various regulations around the world into consideration. This complex task can only succeed with highly trained employees. In 2019, the independent experts at the Institut für Management- und Wirtschaftsforschung (IMWF – institute for management and economic research) confirmed in a large-scale study involving more than 20,000 companies that BITZER is one of the best training providers in Germany. The scientists gave BITZER prominent status in the field of mechanical engineering, traditionally one of the most important sectors in Germany.

A win-win situation: BITZER training quality

For example, BITZER opened a major training centre, the SCHAUFLER Academy in Rottenburg, in early 2016 in order to keep its employees at the cutting edge of technical development. The company also provides its employees with continuous advanced training whilst supporting and encouraging its young professionals. ‘Complex tasks require solid expertise. As a premium manufacturer, we know that the performance of our employees determines the quality of our products. That is why the quality of our training is of great importance to us. Only by training our young professionals ourselves can we know what our young colleagues are actually capable of,’ says Christian Wehrle, member of the Management Board and Chief Operations Officer at BITZER. For instance, the refrigeration and air conditioning technology specialist has significantly expanded and modernised the training area of its centre of excellence in reciprocating compressors close to Leipzig over the past few years. Since 2015, the company has been able to train up to 40 apprentices at the same time in Schkeuditz. Investments that pay off: numerous independent experts have already recognised the work the centre does with its young professionals.

Using contacts: supporting training in Italy and Jordan

BITZER also promotes and supports training in training centres all over the world. The vocational refrigeration and air conditioning technology school in Magenta, Milan, is one of the most recent examples, having opened its doors in early February 2019. It is the first advanced training institution in Europe to have its own training laboratory and its own supermarket with environmentally friendly CO₂ technology. Like many other institutions, BITZER donated its cutting-edge compressors to the training centre named after the founder of the Epta Group, Luigi Nocivelli, for its training courses. Additionally, BITZER donated four modern refrigeration compressors to the Wadi Al-Seer College in Amman, Jordan, in late January. The donation will enable the education centre to augment the practical training it provides its students and prepare them for the everyday challenges of commercial and industrial refrigeration. The Wadi Al-Seer College is an institution of the UNRWA, a United Nations relief and works agency for Palestine refugees. More than 80 students in Amman are learning how to service and repair domestic and industrial refrigerators, upright freezers and cold stores.

Supporting achievements

BITZER promotes and supports its trainees in a variety of ways. ‘We are therefore extremely proud when outstanding achievements such as those of Maren Weippert and Calvin Krießler are honoured by independent experts,’ says Tobias Baisch, Training Personnel Referee at BITZER. Both graduates completed their courses with a grade of 1.4, earning distinctions from the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (IHK). They both also received a bonus from BITZER for their outstanding work. ‘Our trainees are exceptionally important to us – by sponsoring them, we are investing in the future. We are very proud that all of the trainees who graduated in Rottenburg and Sindelfingen in 2019 will continue to work with BITZER in the future,’ says Baisch.