Rexroth Rhinow in conversation –

Kathrin Bleks is the managing director of Rexroth Rhinow GmbH and recently also became a managing director of Neuguss Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH.

The story of your relationship with Neuguss is also family history. Would you like to explain how the handover took place back then?

To be perfectly honest, I have (always) felt closer to Rexroth than Neuguss. I have been coming to the company since I was four years old, so I also have a very strong personal connection to it. When my father became increasingly unwell, the question of who would take over the management arose. He had left me out of his plans at first, as he knew about my family and how deeply involved I was. As his condition worsened, he came to me as a last resort, so to speak. I offered to come into the company three days per week. So none of this was planned, but looking back, it was an important step in my life.

What role does Neuguss Group play for you and your work?

As I mentioned, I think of myself as a Rexrother above all else and my greatest concern is to continue my duties here in the company in the spirit of my father. That means maintaining and/or creating jobs where the people who work here are in a position to provide for their families comfortably, to pay for a roof over their heads and lead their lives as they choose. And the fact that I can do that in this way, that I can feel like a Rexrother through and through, is precisely the freedom that Neuguss allows me. That is very special and would certainly not be possible to this extent in any other configuration.

What do you consider the company’s future tasks to be?

You know, as a metalworker you don’t think so far into the future. Of course, we want to make progress with digitalisation and robotics, but as a metalworker it’s all about the here and now and you are always trying to find new ways to get the company and the people associated with it through the hard times.

You said you have always been a Rexrother. How is that culture embodied in the company?

For me, it means above all else that my work here is not valuable without the people who work here. I run a business that is made possible by its employees, not by me. And that’s why I see it as my duty to facilitate people’s work and to make sure that they are treated as well as possible while doing it. That means that we pay bonuses here, for example. But it also means that we go on a company trip together every three years or so. This year, we are all going to France; I’m really looking forward to it.