Times change. Our mission doesn’t.
Message from the Executive Board
In many respects over the last several years, the exception has started to become the norm. We’ve experienced a global pandemic, have seen war in Europe for the first time in a generation and are combatting high inflation and energy prices. In times like these, it’s good to focus on stability, consistency, and continuous improvement, which is precisely what we have been doing over the the last years.
The situation in the world has affected us all, clients, suppliers, management, and employees alike. But we can weather the storms and overcome the challenges we face by staying true to our mission: to be the most reliable and efficient provider of industrial services in our industries. And we take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for working towards our shared goals and making KAEFER so successful.
Dr. Roland Gärber and Steen E. Hansen
Growth and development move us
Our cooperation with SMS and Altor is flourishing and starting to bear fruit in 2022. The new capital investment in KAEFER has meant that we can focus on providing even greater value to our clients and building an even more stable bedrock for the future of our company
We’ve also been able to welcome another member to our family in Australia: G&S Engineering. With more than 500 employees, G&S is based predominantly in Queensland, where it has been operating for 25 years, delivering maintenance and construction services in the resource sector. Purchasing the assets of G&S is a key part of KAEFER’s Australian growth strategy to expand capability in mechanical and electrical services all over the country.
Efficiency drives us
LEAN remains a powerful force in our organisation and we’re proud of how far we have developed. One of the key elements of LEAN thinking is constantly striving for improvement and we have seen a great deal of that over the last year. In Saudi Arabia, our piping work was made more efficient by using special overhead cranes, in the UK and Ireland, we have seen how 3D modelling and innovative suspended scaffolding improve processes and client satisfaction. In South Africa, we minimised waste by centralising cladding operations. And in the Netherlands, we’ve witnessed how using good, old-fashioned bicycles in combination with a bit of clever engineering has saved time and effort for the KAEFER colleagues travelling across vast industrial sites.
Then we have tools and initiatives like the first LEAN Virtual Reality training sessions, which took place in November. All in all, we’re not resting on our laurels and are committed to getting better every day by doing things the LEAN KAEFER way.
Health, safety, the environment and quality keep us strong
In terms of health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ), we’re continuously improving our results, developing our maturity and adopting tailored approaches ideally suited to the varying circumstances all over the world.
We believe that fostering a proactive and generative safety culture is key and will benefit everyone we work with, suppliers, clients and our KAEFER people alike.
Working together as a team motivates us
Cooperation is a key element of our success. Regardless of whether it’s on a global or a local level, working together means we can pool our individual strengths and provide our clients with reliable and efficient technical solutions. We’re one strong team with common values and goals collaborating across borders. From Brazil to Australia, each of our business units is staffed with experts, our KAEFER colleagues, who are our greatest assets. Again, we would like to thank you for your expertise, hard work and your collaboration with your colleagues both local and further afield.
This also goes beyond our day-to-day jobs. We were heartened to see the outpouring of sympathy and solidarity with the people of Ukraine and are grateful to every single member of the KAEFER family who donated their time and money to help. We’re also proud of everyone who took part in initiatives such as this year’s Venuslauf, which started some time ago as a modest run around a park in Bremen and is now a truly global charitable phenomenon – in the truest sense of the word with over 31,100 kilometres covered by about 2,600 participants around the KAEFER world.
It’s initiatives like these that show how KAEFER is more than just an industrial service provider, but rather a family of dedicated and special individuals all around the globe.
You can read about all these topics and more in this K-WERT and we hope you will be as inspired as we are by the great work our people are doing across the globe. We’d like to say thank you once again for everything that you do for KAEFER and we hope that you stay safe and healthy in the years ahead.
When it counts, we count on you!