Last week, the German Championship "Industrial Mechanics" took place in Großheringen at the Viega factory. In a three-day competition, four apprentices from different companies faced challenging tasks that they were not previously familiar with. The apprentice athletes had to turn and mill various components within 24 hours of competition time, which were then to be assembled into a model engine. Furthermore, tasks from the fields of pneumatics and mechanics were part of the competition.
Among them was Janne Stroh from HAHN Automation, who traveled from Hunsrück to Thuringia. He is undergoing training as an industrial mechanic in Rheinböllen and is in his third year of apprenticeship. The 21-year-old had extensively prepared for the German Championship in the weeks leading up to it and was supported in his training by his instructors at the company.
The results of the training and good preparation became evident to Janne on the day of the award ceremony – when it came to second place and thus the silver medal, his name was called. He was visibly thrilled as he climbed the podium and received his certificate and medal. Also, the accompanying instructor Michael Eckes beamed with pride and enthusiasm for the apprentice's performance. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement, dear Janne!
We would also like to congratulate the two other winners, Leon Seifert (Gold) from Viega GmbH & Co. KG and Lukas Kirchner (Bronze) from Sandvik Tooling Supply. The three winners now officially form the national team of industrial mechanics and will have the opportunity in May to qualify for the WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, which will take place in October. The winner of the qualification stage will represent Team Germany at the WorldSkills.
HAHN Automation has been a member of WorldSkills Germany for several years and supports the concept of "learning in competition". The company first came into contact with the WSG network in 2018 when the then apprentice Jonas Seis participated in the German Championship "CNC Milling" and also secured the silver medal. Since then, several apprentices have participated in various WorldSkills competitions. In 2021, HAHN Automation hosted the Regio Cup "Industrial Mechanics" for the first time, which is set to take place again in Rheinböllen this year.
At HAHN Automation, nurturing young talent is highly valued, and the company, with around 60 apprentices, is now one of the largest training companies in the Hunsrück region. However, the apprentices' skills and performances are by no means hidden in national competition, as the results of the competitions in recent years have clearly