40-year anniversary for the very first Mühlböck apprentice

Every year at the Christmas party, Mühlböck Holztrocknungsanlagen celebrates the many company anniversaries within the workforce. This year there was a very special honour for the company's first ever apprentice.

This year's employee honours at the Mühlböck Christmas party had a special highlight: Harald Kroiß, the very first Mühlböck apprentice ever, was honoured for his 40 years of loyalty to the company.

"Harald Kroiß is our longest-serving employee and has been on board since the beginning of our 42-year company history," emphasised Richard Mühlböck, Managing Director of Mühlböck Holztrocknungsanlagen. "I am very proud that employees have travelled such a long road with us. This shows that our company principle 'With respect and appreciation to success' is actually lived by us," says Mühlböck.

Harald Kroiß began his apprenticeship as a structural steel fitter at Mühlböck Holztrocknungsanlagen in Eberschwang on 25 July 1983. At that time, the first Mühlböck drying kilns were already being produced and assembled. Production still took place in the company owners' own garage. After a further apprenticeship as an electrician, Kroiß worked in international customer service and was deployed worldwide from Russia to South America. In 1996, he joined the sales team and now looks after Mühlböck customers throughout Europe.

The 56-year-old from Eberschwang is connected to the 42-year Mühlböck history like no other employee. His colleagues are always happy and grateful for his wealth of experience, which he is happy to share with them. "From a technical point of view, we have constantly developed over the entire time I have been with the company and have always been technology pioneers despite massive changes and developments," says Harald Kroiß himself.

However, Kroiß sees his 40 years at Mühlböck primarily in terms of versatility and variety - he has never been "bored", he says: "The flexibility, the family-like collegiality, the extensive field of activity and, in particular, the career opportunities and prospects have always remained very attractive over the years," says Kroiß. At the Christmas party, the "40-something" was also honoured with a high-quality personal gift.

He was joined on stage by his son Michael Kroiß, who was also celebrating his 10th anniversary. He also started out as a steel construction fitter apprentice and then trained as an electrical systems technician. He later switched to the assembly department and currently installs systems all over the world, some of which his father sold before him.

"The much-cited 'career with an apprenticeship' is possible for any interested young person at our company, as the Kroiß family's history with us proves," says Richard Mühlböck. "We are happy to welcome anyone who wants to realise their personal goals in our company together with us." Thanks to decades of technological development, Mühlböck Holztrocknungsanlagen has become an important player in the timber industry with a high international market share, despite its niche market. The family-run company is an important and respected employer in the region around Eberschwang.