Family-run Companies join Hands to stand up for Tolerance and Open-Mindedness

Under the slogan “Made in Germany – Made by Diversity”, a total of 50 companies are pointing the way towards greater tolerance and open-mindedness. The joint publicity campaign was launched in March 2019. It included publication of a public service announcement in selected print and billboard media in 15 German cities.

The goal of this common initiative was to send a clear signal in favor of greater tolerance and against xenophobia. At its center was a display featuring the theme “Made in Germany – Made by Diversity”. The subtext reveals the attitude of the participating companies: It doesn’t matter where a person comes from – what matters is living together in peace and tolerance. Through this message, the companies are taking a clear stand against xenophobia.

Fabian Kienbaum, Chief Empowerment Officer of Kienbaum Personnel and Management Consultancy, declared, “As family-run companies, we are conscious of our responsibility to society. We are committed to playing our part in the initiative toward an open culture, and we are taking a stand on behalf of tolerance and open-mindedness, since there is a reason why the theme is ‘Made in Germany’ and not ‘Made by Germans’”.

The idea came about through the efforts of Dr. Timm Mittelsten Scheid, partner in Vorwerk & Co. and a member of the Vorwerk family of entrepreneurs. Dr. Timm Mittelsten Scheid explained his commitment by stating, “I am very involved personally with this subject. In these times of debate over social policy, I believe it is important for business to make a declaration. I am therefore extremely pleased that this idea has generated such a positive response from the community of family-run companies.”

The public service announcement was released on March 26 and appeared in selected daily newspapers (including Handelsblatt, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, WELT and publications of the Funke Media Group), in other publications (including Bunte, Focus and Cicero) and elsewhere. In addition, the campaign wasdisplayed on a variety of billboard media in the ten largest cities in Germany as well as in Hannover, Lübeck, Bielefeld and Mannheim. Below is an alphabetical list of participating companies: ACEG, B. Braun, Baerlocher, Bahlsen, Berner Group, Beumer Group, Boehringer Ingelheim, BPW Bergische Achsen KG, Brose, Claas, Deichmann, Dräger, emz, fritz-kola, Funke Media Group, Giesecke+Devrient, Gira, Hansa-Flex, Henkel, Hipp, Horsch, Hubert Burda Media, Jägermeister, Kienbaum, Klett, Kostal, Krone, Lemken, Lindner, Marquard & Bahls, Messer Group, Metzler, Murtfeldt, Nolte Kitchens, 2ODDO BHF, Oetker Group, Otto Group, Röchling, Sartorius, Sennheiser, SMS Group, Stihl, Ströer, Südvers, Trigema, Vaillant, Vorwerk, Werksviertel Mitte, Wörwag, Würth.

Kienbaum Consultants International is a personnel and management consultancy that puts people at the center of its advising portfolio. The company is specialized in placing people in organizations and in this way bringing change to successful fruition. Kienbaum is active in executive search, human capital services, change and organization consulting and communication fields. In these areas, interdisciplinary teams rely on decades of consulting experience, proven sector expertise and the user-oriented scientific findings of the Kienbaum Research Institute. Kienbaum was founded in Germany 70 years ago and is operated today as a family and partner company. In addition to its headquarters in Cologne, the company is represented in 18 countries on four continents.