Two sides of the coin
Dear colleagues,
I have to admit, it’s quite a challenge if I want to be truly sustainable in terms of mobility in my daily life. Living in a small town on the shores of Lake Geneva, where the beauty of the floral arrangements at the local train station is more widely known than the punctuality of the trains, with an employer at the other end of the country, catering to my children and their range of after-school activities, and maintaining contact with my extended family in northern Germany for regular but brief visits, I far too often choose to use the comforts of a diesel car – one that has really grown on me, because a more environmentally compatible car is also a question of investment.
My research on this topic quickly showed me the two sides of the coin. Logic dictates that sustainable mobility helps the environment; however, we do not want to make too many concessions on comfort and driving pleasure. Our Spotlight feature discusses the aspects that are crucial in the development of environmentally friendly and efficient solutions without losing sight of comfort. A renowned futurist shares with us his predictions for the mobility of the future.
We hope you enjoy reading and exploring this issue!
Isabel Proske
Globe Project Manager
© Uli KnörzerHow do you maintain the balancing act in your endeavor to pursue a more sustainable lifestyle when facing the realities of everyday life?
Send us an e-mail at globe@georgfischer.com
Spotlight | Cover Story
© Martin MaierSustainable mobility
Self-driving or fully connected – the mobility of the future will be sustainable, above all. A selection of examples illustrates how GF is helping to shape the way we will move in the future.
Spotlight | Insider’s View
© privateA world of pods and robots
How will we move around in 30 years and what technologies will we be using? We interview renowned British futurist Dr. Ian Pearson, who discusses developments and offers his prospects for the future.
Spotlight | Your View
© privateHow important is sustainability to you?
Sustainable living is growing in importance. But how can we do it best? Four GF employees from different regions tell us how they live sustainability in their daily lives and what it is they value.
Spotlight | Infographic
© Glenn HarveySustainable metamorphosis
How does a modern car compare to one from the 1970s? Our facts and figures show this.
Spotlight | CEO Corner
© GFPowering new mobility
GF is one of the players with the know-how to help shape the sustainable mobility of tomorrow, says CEO Andreas Müller.
Care | Hidden Hero
© Charlie NeuenschwanderThe enabler
Francesco Viganò from GF Machining Solutions fights for universal access to clean water. With a lot of perseverance and a talent for bringing people together, he is making it happen.
Care | My Best Lesson
© Uli KnörzerIt’s not a job, it’s a mission
Viviane Marques, who previously worked as a scientist, found her dream job at GF as a business developer. But it was difficult to get started.
Care | A Strong Team
© Michael RyanTeam spirit is contagious
Three Change Agents in Sweden inspire more team spirit and an open learning culture as part of the Culture Movement. The success surprised everyone and has resulted in a new spirit of togetherness at the site. A Strong Team gives us the full story.
Create | On Site
© Michael RyanEverything from a single source
A new machining center at the GF Casting Solutions location in Leipzig (Germany) ensures customer satisfaction and a boom in growth.
Create | Our Markets
©Getty Images/Stone/Martin PuddyLasers for a market worth billions
Laser technology is not yet widespread in the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to some of the most promising potential markets for the technology. GF Machining Solutions is gaining a foothold in these markets, winning new customers and revolutionizing the way it manufactures products.
Create | Innovator’s Insight
Innovative global onboarding journey
GForce is the new training and onboarding program for sales and marketing at GF Piping Systems. All employees can use it. It’s AI-driven and designed to be both inspiring and fun. Elisa Nardis, who helped develop GForce, presents the program in Innovator’s Insight.
© EisenbibliothekGF railway for the city
When in 1910 horse-drawn wagons transporting materials to GF were causing increasing congestion in local streets, GF lobbied for and financed an extension to the narrow-gauge tracks of the Schaffhausen streetcar line to the GF plants. In 1911, tracks were laid to the industrial area on the Ebnat, and then in 1913 to nearby Mühlental. The route was shared. The plant railway brought materials to GF, and the town’s streetcar brought GF employees to work. This photo from 1915 shows a plant-operated train in Mühlental built using GF components.
Schaffhausen’s plant-operated railway was in use until: 1993
Annual number of railcars loaded at the plant: 4’000
Number of plant-operated locomotives: 7
Location: Schaffhausen (Switzerland)
Connect | Our Customers
© Thomas Linkel/laifAgriculture rethought
The Canadian company Pure Life Carbon wants to revolutionize agriculture around the world. Together with GF Piping Systems, the company produces growing media that make plants grow more quickly and have less impact on the climate.
Connect | There’s GF in It
© ShutterstockThe box master
Robots with a GF heart: To ensure every parcel reaches the recipient quickly, GF is helping its customers develop an innovative solution in some of the world’s busiest logistics centers.
Connect | Did You Know?
© GFAcross the seven seas
GF Piping Systems has had customized solutions traveling the seven seas for quite some time. Four facts about our global marine business.
Your feedback
Question:
Dear Globe team,
I’ve been wondering about something for a long time. Why don’t you dedicate an entire issue of Globe to a specific country where GF is active? In that manner, the entire Globe family could learn a great deal about other cultures.
Respondent to the Globe reader survey
Winter 2022
Answer:
Dear colleague,
Thank you for your inspiring request. We are a large, international GF family, which is why we try to compile a balanced blend of topics in each issue of Globe, with a featured focus that has strategic relevance for as much of GF as possible, enabling divisions from different regions to have a voice. We focus on regional topics in, for example, the sections On Site and A Strong Team. Setting a focus topic purely geographically might be a possibility, for example in the sense of a learning journey, if all divisions can also play their own important role in it. By the way, we are planning to let the employees choose the topics for the #03/2023 issue of Globe. We are happy to add your proposal to the list of topics.
Your Globe editorial team
And how about you?
Do you have any feedback for Globe, or would you like to ask the Globe editorial team a question? Then send an e-mail to: globe@georgfischer.com