Wienfort GmbH: Keeping it in the family

This scene is a very accurate description of working atmosphere at Wienfort GmbH. In this family business in the small German town of Herten, all the generations work together and help each other out. Younger employees benefit from the experience of their older colleagues. And it works the other way round, too. The older generation are open to suggestions for improvement. Björn Wienfort claps Adam Rajab on the shoulder in praise. "He's always got such innovative ideas that help us with our day-to-day business," enthuses the 51-year-old owner.

Paint buckets and a handcart

During a tour of the company premises, Björn and Rolf Wienfort tell us how the company began with Wienfort GmbH, in 1933. Back then, Björn Wienfort's grandfather Clemens started his own business, and orders quickly followed in the local area. When the Second World War broke out, Clemens Wienfort was called up to the front. He was captured and fell ill. Although he eventually returned to the Ruhr area, he passed away in 1950. Just like back then, the family continues to stand together. His widow Erna continued to run the business with four employees, while their son Rolf began an apprenticeship in another company at the tender age of 14. Ralf was hard-working and dedicated to his job – at that time, he still had to transport heavy paint buckets to the construction site with a handcart.

Rolf Wienfort remained ambitious and continued to educate himself. At the age of 20, he was already qualified as a master craftsman and took over the family business. “I was the youngest master craftsman ever in the region,” Rolf Wienfort recalls. On a staircase hangs the most impressive testimony to his career as a craftsman – the Diamond Master Craftsman’s Diploma, which Rolf Wienfort received 60 years after successfully passing the exam.

Glitter and rolling ads

The Wienforts can look back on many years of tradition, but are always open to new ideas. So in 2018, they decided to redesign the facade of the company building. The orange-colored writing matched perfectly with the anthracite gray tone. The mirror granulate is the highlight. When the sun shines on the surface then it glitters! So anyone looking at the building from the main street in summer sees a wave effect. “This has already proven quite the topic of conversation in the neighborhood,” says Björn Wienfort with a smile as he opens a door in the corridor. The smell of fresh paint hangs in the air. Five cars are positioned in the roomy premises. The vehicle paint shop also belongs to Wienfort GmbH. When the company moved from the Westerholt district to Steverstraße in 1973, Rolf Wienfort built up this branch of the business with his wife Doris.

The vehicle paint shop currently has ten employees. The team often works to repair and hide damage from accidents. “That accounts for around 80 percent of orders in this area,” explains Björn Wienfort. From time to time, customers request special paint jobs – a rolling advertisement for the company that often attracts a lot of attention locally.

The exciting effects of synergy

Björn Wienfort spots his colleague Wladimir Schefer and calls out to him: “All good with you?” Schefer grins and gives him a thumbs up before focusing once again on a dark blue Mercedes. The painting contractors and the vehicle paint shop work independently of each other, but there are synergies. When the painters had designed a building’s facade, the same customer turned out to also want his furniture painted. Transport would have been too costly. So the team from the paint shop came along to help and completed the job on site.

When Björn Wienfort leaves the hall again, his son Eike drives into the parking lot. He clambers out and greets his mother, before disappearing into his office upstairs. “See you soon! I just need to send a couple of emails,” says Stephanie Wienfort, who takes care of scheduling for the family business. Their dog Emma, a Jack Russell, runs after Eike Wienfort, who gazes over the large hall from his window. “I’ve known some of them for as long as I can remember,” comments the 24-year-old, as his colleagues return from the construction site in their vans.

He always used to run around the premises with paintbrush as a toddler. Despite this, Eike Wienfort took a few detours before ending up in the trade. He was a model and wanted to work in the fashion industry. But at some point he stopped enjoying the rather superficial world of catwalks. “I then did a year’s internship with a painting contractor. And I really enjoyed it,” says Eike Wienfort, explaining this turnaround. He began training in the trade and graduated after two years instead of the planned three. “When it’s my turn, I want to run the shop as successfully as my parents and grandparents,” says Eike Wienfort. The rest of the family loves hearing this. It makes Rolf Wienfort particularly happy that a fourth generation of the family is set to stay in the painting business. But the Senior Manager doesn’t intend to relax for a long time yet. “There’s still so much to do,” he says.

Royal blue – a favorite color shade?

The company primarily works for public clients. Wienfort employees paint the facades of hospitals, turn schools an entirely new color and are called on site to modernize office complexes. When the Wuppertal Opera had to be completely renovated, the Herten-based company was awarded the contract. The Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences’ new building also bears Wienfort GmbH’s brushstrokes. Björn Wienfort likes to talk about a recently completed project in particular. In the autumn of 2019, the changing rooms at the Bundesliga football club, FC Schalke 04, were given a new coat of paint. Just before a game kicks off, as the stars change around key player Suat Serdar, they admire freshly painted, royal blue walls. The walls boast words such as “faithful”, “wild”, “courageous”, and “pride” in bold letters.

“My people did that,” says the company boss proudly about the commissioned work (he’s a fan of FC Schalke 04 himself!). “The blue design of the players’ corridor and other parts of the arena were based on our ideas,” comments Björn Wienfort. When the players enter the tunnel, they pass a mural just before the lawn; it makes it look like they are walking through a miners’ tunnel.

Training – an important topic

Such large projects requires an equally large team. The company employs around 60 people. Most of the employees come from Herten and the surrounding towns. “I like it here,” says Senior Tradesman Frank Zandorf. “Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have stayed for more than 30 years.” The topic of training is important to the Wienforts, too. They currently have eight trainee spaces filled. “I’ve been campaigning to get more young women into the company,” enthuses Stephanie Wienfort.

And she’s succeeded. Just five years ago, it was only men that made their way to the construction site. Now four women climb into the vans in the mornings. Vanessa Adamietz is one of them. She was already enthusiastic about painting while at school. From Herten herself, this led Vanessa to look for an apprenticeship in a creative trade – she found it on Steverstraße. “She’s got so much passion for the job,” praises Stephanie Wienfort. The young apprentice would also like to continue her training as a master craftswoman. And who knows, maybe Vanessa Adamietz will be able to create a masterful designs in the near future.