Hello Alexander! What excites you about the Rheinfelden location and why?

I find the Rheinfelden location particularly appealing. In the middle of the border triangle Germany-France-Switzerland and directly on the Rhine, you benefit not only from a good infrastructure, but also from a very diverse and appealing landscape. The location offers me many opportunities to relax after work and to experience something outside with my children – for example a canoe trip on the Rhine, a tour towards Basel or just a walk.

Family plays an important role in your life. What opportunities do Evonik and the surrounding area offer you?

A few years ago, I was a single parent and therefore had to get along with many tasks without any further help. As a family-friendly employer, Evonik gives me excellent support in combining and harmonizing my family and professional life. In addition to flexible working hours, I can work in the home office. Evonik also offers kindergarten reservations for very young children, as well as other childcare programs on site. Finally, the holiday care is very well organized, and I was happy to make use of it.

Could you tell us a little about yourself and your work at Evonik?

I've been associated with Evonik for a long time. My grandfather and father already worked for Degussa. Besides the short five-minute walk commute to work, he was especially pleased about the good working conditions at Evonik. Inspired by this enthusiasm for the company, I started my apprenticeship as an office clerk at Degussa in 1996 and then worked in purchasing. Over time, I have accompanied many changes in the area and finally found my entry as a product line controller via a detour into materials management and external company management. I am currently leading a team of six people with great pleasure - together we are further developing Evonik's commercial processes at the Rheinfelden site.

You will soon have 25 years of service and therefore have witnessed many changes at the Rheinfelden location. Would you like to briefly tell us about your highlights?

There have been a few highlights over the past 25 years. Of course, I think of the merger of Degussa and Hüls as well as the various name changes up to today's Evonik. The joint restart into a “deep purple” future was also a special moment for us at the location. A lot has happened since then: Construction of a new global research center for silanes, construction of a new headquarters for the event of an incident, further development of the site in terms of sustainability, many campaigns and progress in the area of safety and health at the site or the introduction of group work and CIP as well as a lot more. But what is and will always be a highlight for me is the solidarity and cooperation with my colleagues. We are simply a great team at the Rheinfelden location!