A celebration on three occasions at once: Last Friday, the Ludwig Schunk Foundation hosted an evening event in honor of Dr. Arno Roth, outgoing CEO of the Schunk Group. The three occasions were Dr. Roth's 25th anniversary of service, his (belated) 60th birthday, and his farewell as CEO of Schunk.
"Each of these occasions in itself would have deserved a red carpet," Gunthard Sommer, Chairman of the Board of the Ludwig Schunk Foundation, emphasized right at the beginning of his speech. But Dr. Roth had wanted a more modest setting, with few speeches and instead many good conversations. And the Ludwig Schunk Foundation was happy to oblige, said Sommer.
More than 60 guests attended the reception, including members of the Foundation and Supervisory Board, members of the Executive Board, managing directors of the lead companies, direct employees, a small number of selected guests and also Dr. Roth's family.
"Schunk is in an excellent position."
Sommer took the opportunity to acknowledge Dr. Roth's special commitment to Schunk, making this point in no small part to Schunk's excellent financial figures during his leadership. "This is the most profitable growth in the company's history. We have grown faster than the industry and the competition," Sommer put it succinctly. He added that this has not only made investments averaging more than 100 million euros a year possible, but also enabled employees to share in the profits with more than 20 million euros annually. "Today, Schunk is excellently positioned overall in comparison and is very solid financially," Sommer summed up, adding that this was to Dr. Roth's credit in particular.
"For all your successes, however, you have always pointed out that many things at Schunk were already laid out in the past and that many people played a significant role in this," Sommer praised Dr. Roth's team spirit.
In recognition of his extraordinary commitment to the Schunk Group, Dr. Roth was honored by the Board of the Ludwig Schunk Foundation - Gunthard Sommer, Dr. Reinhold Wolf and Prof. Dr. Hubert Jung - with a special award from the shareholder: the Schunk Medal in Silver.
Dr. Roth's colleagues in the company management, Dr. Ulrich von Hülsen and Peter R. Manolopoulos, paid tribute to his work and thanked him for the good cooperation by reciting a poem they had written themselves. In a humorous way, they addressed his hobbies and presented each of them with a suitable gift.
The vocal ensemble "The Three Voices" provided an extremely successful musical framework: Their first-class singing program was met with a standing ovation, while the kitchen team of the company restaurant once again shone with selected delicacies.