This Women’s Month WENZEL will be joining gieMedia for their annual roundtable discussion. Per the U.S. Department of Commerce, women represent about 47% of the total workforce. The data shows they only make up about 30% of the 15.8 million people employed in manufacturing industries. It is interesting to note that 1 in 4 manufacturing leaders are women but wow, what a force they are. Setting the bar high, leading with firm empathy but most of all changing the way the industry have thought and viewed women for centuries.
To learn the latest thoughts from women in manufacturing. Join Elizabeth Engler Modic from gieMedia as she moderates a roundtable discussion on Thur., March 31 at 12PM ET with leading women involved in manufacturing. Panelists include Dr. Heike Wenzel, CEO of WENZEL Group; Veronica Messersmith, Vice President of Strategic Relations, Americas at Sandvik Coromant; and Alyssa O’Brien, Product Engineer with OSG USA.
With our own CEO, Dr. Heike Wenzel taking part we thought of sharing with you what lead her to her career in manufacturing.
How did you choose a career in manufacturing?
At the beginning of my career, I did not actually intend to work in my parents’ mechanical engineering company, WENZEL. My studies in business informatics initially led me to IT consulting, but my parents always showed me how much joy it brings to be an entrepreneur! Especially when seeing how machines are constructed from ideas. Then the ideas are produced, and finally used by our customers. Customers that are right across the world from a wide range of industries such as automotive, aviation, and medical technology. This all lead me to join the company in 1998 via international controlling and after a few years working together with my parents, I took over sole responsibility of the WENZEL Group.
What do you enjoy most about your work
What I value most in my work is working with people, with our employees, partners, and customers. I particularly appreciate the international nature of our company. When I travel to our 15 branches in Asia, Europe, and the USA, I enjoy the cultural differences. Right across the world I experience a great deal of camaraderie and warmth that you can probably only experience in a family business environment. In addition, it is very fulfilling to be able to see how our innovative strength in development enables us to create new solutions again and again. As a medium-sized company that prides ourselves on being flexible, we always respond to specific wishes. This customer-oriented focus on creating tailormade solutions fills me with joy and pride. That, in itself, makes me look forward to my workday every day!
