Johann Hattinger: 30 years – 300 apprentices
Goodbye Johann Hattinger
In 1991, Johann Hattinger took over the apprenticeship program and successfully developed it further. By the time he retired in 2022, his proud record stood at 300 apprentices supported over the past 30 years. The fact that 170 of the former apprentices are still employed at WINTERSTEIGER today is particularly pleasing.
Milestones on the way to today's high level of training:
- In 2004, Christian Scharnböck started as a year-round apprentice trainer
- In 2006, the new, larger workshop was set up
- In 2007, external trainers were hired for seminars on team building, conflict resolution, and product management
- In 2009, the apprenticeship project was introduced. During the last two years of their training, apprentices develop a project independently, e.g., the combine cabin for the SEEDMECH showroom
- In 2022, the new training workshop "Smart Factory Lab" was opened
The "story of the girls"
In 2005, the first young female apprentice joined in the production department. There was initially a lot of debate around the subject of women in the workshop, however it soon became clear that the young women had an expert grasp of technology. Some of them have made impressive careers at WINTERSTEIGER, taking on leadership positions such as heads of production planning or production control. Twenty women have since been trained as WINTERSTEIGER mechanical engineers or electrical systems engineers.
Upon his retirement, Johann Hattinger – known as "da Hattinger Hansi" – had worked for WINTERSTEIGER for 47 years. Establishing the apprenticeship program was a special highlight of his long career.