The Bad Blankenburg-based Petrick GmbH, manufacturer of X-ray tubes, is treating its employees to a piece of fitness.
Bad Blankenburg. Anyone who has taken off from a European airport this year has unknowingly already come into contact with products from the Bad Blankenburg-based Petrick GmbH. During boarding, an air analysis takes place in the background, designed to detect explosives hidden in hand luggage. The corresponding analysis device is equipped with X-ray technology from the city of Fröbel.
This is just one of many applications for the products from the family-owned company, founded in 1991. The X-ray tubes and emitters from Petrick GmbH are not only found in dental practices but also in orthopedics and beverage production, where they monitor the fill level of bottles.
In order for the X-ray tubes from Bad Blankenburg to continue finding buyers in the future, a motivated and efficient team is needed. This is exactly what the two managing directors, Antje Petrick and André Nikolaus, had in mind when they recently provided their employees with company bicycles featuring electric drives.
The initiative was sparked by a few colleagues and the realization that employees do not have to pay taxes on the monetary benefit of the bikes, as long as they are E-bikes. “We were surprised by the response,” said Antje Petrick, the daughter of company founder Horst Petrick. 17 out of 41 employees raised their hands, and another eight are using bikes without electric assistance. This reflects a sporty team, and in addition to the long-offered back massage, it provides another option for health care.
In practice, this meant that each interested employee could choose a bike worth up to 3,500 euros. The company covered the costs, which amounted to around 50,000 euros, and also invested an additional 20,000 euros in a new bike storage facility with eight integrated charging stations. The electricity for this comes from a photovoltaic system on the company’s roof, which generates nearly 40,000 kilowatt-hours per year and is set to be expanded later this year.
Since the first 14 e-bikes were delivered, the employee parking lot for cars has become more spacious. “Even people we didn’t expect are now coming to work by bike in all kinds of weather, from Unterwirbach or Rohrbach,” the boss marvels. As a little incentive, a prize has been offered for the most kilometers ridden, which are now eagerly recorded via a tracking app. Of course, the brand-new company bikes can also be used privately.
Michael Walther, the managing director of Radlecks in Saalfeld, was so impressed with the initiative (and the large order) that he presented Petrick GmbH with a voucher worth 300 euros this week. The managing directors from Bad Blankenburg promptly passed on the money to Mayor Mike George (Free Voters), who plans to use it for the construction of a playground.
Somehow, it seems like everyone benefits from this deal.
Text by Thomas Spanier, photo by André Kranert (OTZ 31.08.2019).
