Kreuzwertheim / Bronnbach | For the fourth time, the Kurtz Ersa Group held its annual anniversary celebration at Bronnbach Abbey. The festively decorated Bernhardsaal of the former Cistercian abbey was once again the festive setting to honor the impressive number of 75 company anniversaries for their many years of loyalty to the company. CEO Thomas Mühleck welcomed the jubilarians as well as numerous members of the management team, advisory board and shareholders.
The following were honored for ten years of service at Kurtz: Victor Romanow, Yevgeniy Budnik, Susanne Trabel, Tobias Liebler, Lara Hurta, Rene Fellinghauer and Rene Lampreht. Also honored for ten years at Ersa were: Frank Kappel, Gabriele Stumpf, Sebastian Albert, Kevin Schmidt, Nico Emmerich, Sebastian Amthor, Irina Bajdin, Linda Schumacher, Benedict Fleischmann, Werner Hegmann, Alexander Steinhöfer, Stefan Müller and Julia Kellner. Klaus Fischer was honored for ten years at Kurtz Ersa Automation and Johann Salzseiler at Kurtz Ersa Logistik. At the Holding company, Dietmar Borgards, Colin Fischer, Cornelia Grundler, Frank Weber, Eduard Renschler and Tobias Schütz received certificates for ten years of service.
The following Kurtz employees have reached 15 years: Simon Grasmann, Philipp Günzelmann, Sebastian Nitschky, Alexander Drach and Patrick Spengler. In Ersa, Sebastian Schwab and Fabian Dick were honored for 15 years. Jan Bundschuh was honored for 15 years of service at Kurtz Ersa Logistik, and at the Holding Michael Semmel and Christian Diehm have already accumulated 15 years on the Kurtz Ersa account.
Radoslaw Lauer, Christoph Löffler, Karl Wennes, Egon Spachmann, Monika Volk, Viktor Reiswich and Hermann Beck can look back on two decades at Ersa. Lena Seifert and Elmar Hefter have completed 20 years of service at Kurtz.
A dozen or so employees each received an IHK certificate for 25 years of service: Sonia Rei, who joined Ersa´s internal sales department on October 1, 1999, became Head of Administration in 2008 and moved to the holding company as Assistant to the Management Board in 2018. She enjoys the sun and good food. Born in Portugal, she is not only multilingual, but also loves to travel in her free time. Martin Menz, who joined on 01.04.1999 as a design engineer, has been working as a service manager at CIO since 2018 and stands for structured work and a balanced personality. Hans-Peter Blum, who joined the company on 01.09.1999, started as an apprentice industrial mechanic and moved to the Holding in 2006. Today he is responsible for various IT systems and is very involved as a paramedic and beekeeper. Florian Geyer from Kurtz joined the company on 01.09.1999 as an apprentice industrial mechanic. He is very familiar with the assembly of automatic foaming machines and foundry machines. He has been a works council member at Kurtz since 2022 and is a reliable colleague and active carnival fan.
Dirk Beyersdorf joined MBW from Ersa on June 1, 1999 as a CNC machine operator and was active as a shift supervisor from 2016. In 2018, he moved to Ersa, where he has been an active member of the works council since July 2021. His hobbies are motorcycling and jogging, since he took a running course at the Kurtz Ersa Hammer Academy. Ralf Walk joined the company on 01.07.1999 as a sales representative for soldering tools, was considered a rework and inspection specialist for many years and is currently responsible for tools, rework and inspection in Southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In his spare time, he enjoys riding two wheels – with or without a motor. Claudia Rosha was hired on 01.08.1999 as a design engineer for soldering tools and has been designing rework systems since 2013. In her free time, she goes bouldering, enjoys cycling and likes to swim in the Tauber. Johannes Stahl was hired as a software engineer at the soldering machines on September 1, 1999 and was the first in-house programmer for the ERSASOFT machine software. Today he is a sought-after contact for 2nd and 3rd level support issues relating to ERSASOFT and CAD. Andrea Petkovic started at Ersa on October 1, 1999 and was hired as an employee in the assembly of soldering tools, where she still works today. She is very reliable, enjoys looking after her grandchildren and sings in the church choir. Sigrid Wolf started in sales at Ersa on October 1, 1999 and has been working in the office since 2005. She is very well organized and reliably manages deliveries for Tools. Stephanie Lohmüller started at MBW on 01.07.1999 in the work preparation department, worked in purchasing and in the Holding – today she works at Ersa in Customer Support and is a guarantee for reliability and adherence to deadlines. In her free time, she rides her enduro, loves the Middle Ages and relaxes with yoga and classic rock. Eugen Jabs joined the company on February 15, 1999 as a metalworker and from 2011 was Deputy Head of Production and from 2016 Shift Manager for “Programming, Cutting, Bending”. Today, he shows his high level of commitment as an employee in the scheduling department at Kurtz Ersa Automation. He is a fire safety officer and enjoys spending his vacations camping and caravanning.
Thomas Hartung from Kurtz, who joined the company on September 1, 1994 as a quality assurance employee, is proud to have been with the company for 30 years. After many positions in technology, he was able to prove himself in the quality department and was appointed Head of Quality Assurance in 2021. Today, he works in incoming goods inspection and processes complaints, among other things. He is considered to be very conscientious and relaxes in his free time by cycling, cooking or traveling.
Christian Schwab began his apprenticeship as an energy electronics technician at Ersa on 01.09.1994. In 2019, he was appointed deputy value stream manager of the ET2 line and has been the team leader for the test field since 2022. He is considered competent and decisive and is a passionate motorcyclist. Markus Sendelbach started at Ersa on 01.09.1994 as an apprentice technical draughtsman. He is actively involved as a design engineer in the Selective team and has played a key role in all generations of the VERSAFLOW soldering machine, including, for example, the industrial property rights for the VERSAFLOW ONE. He is the first chairman of the Karbach fire department and is a gourmet barbecue enthusiast and passionate camper. Nicole Schneider started in Ersa´s internal sales department on 01.09.1994 and has been working as a sales administrator since 2005. She is an integral part of the Ersa sales team and keeps a close eye on processes. She has a talent for organization and is considered friendly and direct – in her free time she looks after her family and children and enjoys sports.
On September 1, 1994, Lothar Schwab was hired as an energy system electronics technician in the machine production department at Ersa. He has been an electrical design engineer in the reflow department since 2019. With a wide range of responsibilities, the passionate hobby shooter takes care of all measurements as an ESD officer and is active as a Scrum Master. Holger Gey started at Ersa as a lathe operator on September 19, 1994. With intermediate stops at MBW, he now works as an industrial mechanic in the gantry pre-assembly group. He is considered reliable and precise – in his free time, the first aider enjoys going to concerts, riding his motorcycle and looking after his four children. Rosa Maria Ott was hired as an office administrator on April 1, 1994. After working for Kurtz and the Holding, she now works in logistics as an administrative assistant. She knows “God and the world” at Kurtz Ersa and her motto is “don´t despair, ask Rosi”. She enjoys looking after the whole team, is approachable for everyone and has a talent for organization. When she needs time off from Kurtz Ersa, she likes to travel and give free rein to her green fingers.
Our CEO and CFO Thomas Mühleck has also been with us for 30 years. He started at Ersa on 01.08.1994 as a marketing clerk and was appointed Head of Public Relations in the holding company on 01.01.2000, taking on more and more areas of responsibility. Among other things, he spent a year in the USA in 2004, where he was commercially responsible for Kurtz North America Inc. From 2008, he held the position of Head of Central Purchasing, Logistics and Communication and was active as Commercial Manager of the Metals business segment. Since 2009, he has been responsible for the management in the role of CFO, and since October 1, 2023 also in the role of CEO. He used to be a great runner and completed the Berlin Marathon, but now prefers to go the long distance at the barbecue. He has a big heart – not only for his family, but also for Kurtz Ersa. His door is always open and anyone and everyone can come with his or her issues. He has no managerial airs and graces, he has both feet on the ground and helps wherever he can. He relaxes best with a glass of wine and a view of the North Sea dunes.
Stefan Ludwig von der Kurtz, who started as a design engineer for the pre-expanders on September 1, 1989, has been with the company for 35 years. He has been entrusted with the development of new machines since 2015 – among other things, he played a key role in the development of radio-frequency technology and the Flying Ray. As a project manager, he always maintains an overview and has an eye for technology and what is feasible. In his spare time, he plays the trombone in the Hammergebläse and enjoys cycling. Klaus Schmid, who started at Ersa on July 1, 1989 as a machine fitter, has also been on board for 35 years. He worked in various positions and was appointed head of the Ersa machine assembly department in March 2000, where he is still active today. He is always approachable for his team and consistently carries out his tasks. When he is not busy with the company, he is looking after his grandchildren or working on his house, where there is always something to do.
Jochen Diehm is pleased to have been with Kurtz Ersa for 40 years. He joined the company on June 28, 1984 as an apprentice machine fitter and has been working in the assembly of Kurtz machines ever since. He is very familiar with the pre-expanders, but also with the foundry machines and trimming presses. He is a key player in the assembly department. His hobbies are riding his e-bike and going on vacation. Michael Weiss from Kurtz, who began his training as a machine fitter on 01.09.1984 and was subsequently taken on in the Foaming Machine Assembly department, has also been with the company for 40 years. In 2014, he became Head of Assembly PFM and is now active as a commissioning engineer for foaming machines. He has a high level of machine expertise and is active as a first aider and safety officer. In his free time, he enjoys mountain biking and slips into many “prince roles” at carnival. Dieter Häfner joined Ersa on March 12, 1984 as a machine fitter and has also worked in the mechanics department for 40 years. He has held various positions – such as deputy mechanical manager. He was also responsible for various relocations. His qualities include patience and perseverance and always having an idea when things get stuck somewhere. He enjoys cycling and goes camping on vacation. Another veteran with 40 years of service is Herbert Kuhnert. He started at Ersa on April 2, 1984 as an electrical mechanic and has spent the last ten years working in operational maintenance and building services. He shows great patience and inner balance, works very precisely and meticulously. He spends a lot of time around the house and in the garden and is known among friends and family as a helping hand.
The crowning glory was provided by two employees celebrating 45 years of service: Andreas Dressler from Ersa and Rudolph Albert from Kurtz Ersa Logistik. Andreas Dressler began his training as a machine fitter at Kurtz on September 1, 1979. After that he always worked in pre-assembly, then from 2004 at Ersa. His strengths were punctuality and a high level of care. He has been in partial retirement since mid-2024 and enjoys bus trips in the surrounding area, reading and cycling. Rudolph Albert also began his training as a machine fitter on 01.07.1979 and then worked as a locksmith. The all-rounder continued to do everything from cutting and preparing weld seams to working on the flame-cutting machine. In 2020, he moved to the incoming goods department in logistics. His passion is his Güldner tractor, and he is also an active member of the volunteer fire department.
“The anniversary celebration at Bronnbach Monastery is an extremely worthy setting to honor our loyal employees. Without your tireless commitment, we would not be the global machine builder that we have become over the course of 245 years. On behalf of the management, the advisory board and the shareholders, a heartfelt thank you for your strong commitment at your workplace together with your team for the machine builder Kurtz Ersa, which we and our customers value,” concluded Thomas Mühleck.
