Every year strikes its own distinctive notes, so Thomas’s review of the year sums up everything that made 2023 special:
The human factor!
Looking back reminds us that team spirit is a really big thing at Thomas, and not just when we’re at work. For instance, Thomas once again entered teams in two local company runs. First up was the Siegerländer company run in Siegen in June, which saw 45 Thomas runners line up to take part. And, even though the most important thing was to have fun, it was still fantastic to see one of the Thomas men’s teams claim third place in the company rankings, beating off a whole army of competitors. This was followed by the Westerwälder company run in Betzdorf in mid-September, where our team was actually the largest with some 50 entrants. Three of the men’s teams were placed in the top five overall, with two mixed teams making it into the top ten.
Taking part in company runs seems to be growing more and more popular at Thomas, and you could probably say the same about Thomas itself as an employer. This is because the team in Herdorf welcomed some important new starters over the past year, including a large number of apprentices. A total of 21 new apprentices for commercial and technical professions joined us in 2023.
Discovering all about working at Thomas!
This level of interest in doing an apprenticeship at Thomas is no accident. The company has been a well-known training provider in the local area for a long time now, not least thanks to its targeted outreach to young people with formats such as the Young Talents Night. This was held for the first time in July, giving local schoolchildren the opportunity to find out about the various career prospects that Thomas offers. The event featured talks and presentations, an app-based scavenger hunt through the company’s buildings and many stimulating workshops that gave visitors the chance to try things out for themselves and experience engineering in action.
(German language version)
Attuned to market trends!
2023 was another year packed full of trade show appearances. Ultimately, being innovative isn’t enough – you also need to showcase your innovations, cultivate your network and forge new contacts, whether you’re at IFPE in Las Vegas, one of the most illustrious trade shows for fluid technology, drive engineering, and motion control, at the Industrial Vehicle Technology (iVT) Expo in Cologne, or at Agritechnica in Hanover. Thomas’s trade show team and product specialists always presented solutions that allow customers to make their systems smarter and more precise.
Miniaturization, digitalization, automation, and efficiency savings were once again among the main overarching trends on show, and Thomas was ideally placed with products such as its Electromechanical Actuator (EMA), Electrohydraulic Actuator (EHA), and other innovations.
Thomas has also taken every possible opportunity over the past few months to advertise itself as an employer at nationwide recruitment fairs. In the spring, Thomas reached out to potential recruits at not one but two such events: the Bonding Dresden and Praxis@Campus in Koblenz. They were followed in June by the Contact market Gummersbach and, in the second half of the year, by the ABOM in Wissen, the Karrieretag Familienunternehmen in Attendorn, the Career pathways Dresden, and the W&I-Day in Siegen, a university careers fair for business, economics, and STEM subjects.
Cause for celebration!
Looking back on 2023, there is so much that should not go unmentioned. But there is not enough space for everything here. Nevertheless, three other events should not be forgotten: Our Chinese colleagues were delighted to celebrate one year of production in Kunshan. And the Thomas team in the USA celebrated its 25th anniversary this year – in a small group with a cooking event and in the presence of Christoph Thomas. He did not miss the opportunity to congratulate them personally.
Second, as keen magazin readers and visitors to the Thomas website will already have noticed, our “Snackbox” podcast got properly off the ground this year. Marvin Ramos, Eileen Herden, Nick Erber, Burghard Hilse-Langen, and Johannes Alessio were 2023’s guests, telling us a bit about themselves and their work. The next episodes are already being prepared as we speak.
Last but not least, the Thomas Christmas Market once again brought the curtain down on the year in style: A range of stalls invited visitors to come and linger with all kinds of delicacies and a healthy dose of festive spirit – the best possible way to get in the mood for a peaceful and relaxing Christmas. It’s the time when everyone takes a breather and recharges their batteries for another year, one that will undoubtedly make a splash of its own with a fresh set of highlights and experiences.
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