Tönnies builds housing

Plan for single apartments, 2-person apartments, and houses for several families

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 28 July 2020 – On Tuesday, the Tönnies Group presented their future housing plan for their employees. Central to the plan is the goal of providing those contract employees who will be hired directly by the company in the future with well-equipped housing that meets a defined standard.
By 01 January 2021, Tönnies will focus on using staff employed directly by the company in the core areas of production. Most employees currently hired on a contract basis already live in rented apartments and houses; around 30 percent live in apartments provided by the contract company. Tönnies is particularly keen on building and providing new housing for this group. “Integration and a strong connection to the town are primarily the result of reasonable living arrangements” says Daniel Nottbrock, Managing Director of Tönnies Holding. “We want to create a long-term relationship between these people and our company. And the key to doing this is well-equipped housing at prices that are appropriate for the town and for the market.”
Student residences in Lemgo (Lippe district) will be the blueprint for future accommodation for the employees. The company presented the corresponding plans at a press conference held on Tuesday. The company now also wants to offer its employees housing that meets the standard of the student residences in Lemgo by building new accommodation in the municipalities in the region.
The overall plan comprises three accommodation levels: single apartments, couples apartments and multi-room units. This plan combines the new construction of apartments with the rental of existing objects, which are also sought on the basis of a fixed standard for size and furnishing. For families with more than two persons, Tönnies would like to offer multi-room apartments in existing buildings. “Accommodation in single or 2-person apartments should give the employees an easier start here. In the long term, we would like to integrate the employees in the region and in the labour market”, emphasises Nottbrock. He hopes that it will soon be possible to implement the first projects in the towns.
The new apartments are for one or two persons. The size of the 2-person apartments is around 27 m². Depending on the building land, the total rent (incl. heating) for the 2-person apartments is between EUR 400 and 450 per apartment, in other words, EUR 200 to 225 per person. The size of the single apartments is around 16 m². The total rent (incl. heating) is around EUR 300. Each has its own bathroom and a kitchenette, is fully furnished with electrical appliances.
There are also communal rooms in each house for all tenants, which, depending on the arrangement, are equipped with table football or other leisure facilities, as well as laundry facilities and a cellar. Weekly cleaning of the communal areas and property management services are also included.
So that the new build plans can be implemented quickly, the company has also made contact with the municipalities in the region and has already written directly to 21 mayors. “We have a finished plan and could make a building application within 14 days. We now need building land in the towns and districts for implementation of the project” says Daniel Nottbrock, and adds: “With these new apartments, we are also relieving the local housing market”. The proximity to supermarkets and the workplace are important considerations for the location. This will also enable more effective and more focussed transport to the company.

Over 8000 care packages already provided to Tönnies employees

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 30 June 2020 – For Sabrina Sudbrock the working day has been turned on its head – as manager, she was responsible for the factory outlet at Tönnies in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, but for more than a week now, she has been working in quite a different place: together with several colleagues, she has been looking after the supply of groceries to Tönnies employees in the Gütersloh area who are currently in quarantine. At the moment, the red bulging boxes are leaving the site non-stop.
Sabrina Sudbrock is one of the Tönnies employees who is under “work quarantine”. “We are only allowed to spend time at home and at work”, explains the resident of Rheda-Wiedenbrück. But at the moment, she is not at home very much. For most of the day, she orders groceries and other products from suppliers for the care boxes – even at the weekend. “Some days my telephone never stops ringing”, she says.
Sabrina Sudbrock and her colleagues are pleased to be at work and are ready to help secure the emergency supplies for the Tönnies employees. Some employees and their families have no-one who can go shopping for them. “This is when we step in and we are happy to help” explains Marcus Stühlinger. The Managing Director of the Tönnies logistics subsidiary Tevex coordinates the care centre together with Managing Director Dirk Mutlak. This has already enabled more than 8000 grocery packages to find their way to quarantine homes. “Our colleagues are constantly packing the boxes”, praises Stühlinger. They include everyday groceries such as bread, eggs, milk, sliced meats, meat, sausages, drinks. The range available from the care centre also includes baby food, nappies, toilet paper as well as other care products.
“The employees are very thankful when we provide them with groceries” reports Marcus Stühlinger. This applies both for employees employed directly at Tönnies and for the men and women employed by the service providers of the Rheda-Wiedenbrück company. “The service providers identify which of their employees are in need and they can collect and distribute the packages from us accordingly”, explains the Tevex Managing Director with regard to the cooperation. The offer is supplemented by distribution campaigns such as that from the DRK [German Red Cross], the fire service and the THW [Technical Relief Agency]. “We are very pleased to have their support. There are almost 7000 employees and their families to help – a mammoth task” continues Stühlinger.
The team also receives support from long-term suppliers of the Tönnies factory outlet: a bakery in Rheda-Wiedenbrück bakes around 2000 loaves of bread some days, there are fruit and vegetables from a local farmer, poultry products from a supplier in Rietberg. “Of course that is how they earn their money – however the willingness to help with special deliveries is immense. They have a sympathetic ear for us day and night, and even at the weekend” reports Sabrina Sudbrock appreciatively. Together with Jörg Nuhn she actually manages the company’s small supermarket on the site. But now she is caring for the employees. “It is a matter of honour” assures Sabrina Sudbrock. “In Team Tönnies we stick together”, she adds, and then briefly answers the ringing telephone again.

Work continues at the Bavarian sites of Bamberg and Kempten

No positive cases of the coronavirus at the sites in Bavaria / hygiene concepts take effect on site

Bamberg / Kempten / Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 23 June 2020 – Work continues at the Bavarian sites of the Tönnies Group in Bamberg and Kempten. None of the employees there is infected with the coronavirus. The hygiene concepts implemented at the sites have proven to be effective thus far. We are still working in close consultation with the relevant authorities. In addition, the employees continue to receive intensive training on the specific hygiene guidelines, and the pandemic concept is constantly being further developed in order to reduce possible infection risks.
At Allgäu Fleisch in Kempten, the animals already slaughtered are currently butchered on site. There is a “meat jam” since production in Rheda-Wiedenbrück is closed which is where the slaughtered animals would otherwise be butchered and then further processed. For this reason, the animals slaughtered in Kempten are now also butchered there. However, slaughter operations will soon resume in Kempten. The acceptance of raw materials from farmers from the region is currently ensured by other local companies.
The Schlacht- und Viehhof Bamberg [slaughterhouse and stockyard], which belongs to the city of Bamberg, is continuing to slaughter pigs at a constant rate. Currently around 500 to 600 pigs are slaughtered for Tönnies each day, for six days a week, in a contract slaughter arrangement. Tönnies also plans to continue the slaughter process in the future at this level. This ensures that we will continue to take delivery of raw materials for local producers.
The slaughtered pork sides are sometimes supplied directly to trade customers for further processing. Sometimes they go to processing plants for the food industry. In Bamberg, the slaughtered pigs meet the guidelines for the GQ-Bayern (Tested Quality) mark. The pigs come from Bavarian regions within approximately 150 to 200 km of Bamberg.
“It is and remains important that we produce food. For this reason, we have all been hypersensitive for months – and at all sites. We are aware of our responsibility and are in close contact with the relevant local authorities”, stated Dr. André Vielstädte, company spokesperson for the Tönnies Group.

Tönnies is committed to action

Continuation of t30 Sustainability Strategy

Rheda-Wiedenbrück, 23 June 2020 – The Tönnies Group has decided to continue with their t30 Sustainability Strategy. As already announced at the start of 2020, the key areas of Work, Living and Protection of Resources will now be further developed through specific resolutions by the company management. Clemens Tönnies already announced last Saturday “We will not continue in this way”.
Now, the specific resolutions of the market leader:

1. Abolition of work contracts in all core areas of meat production – direct employment of these employees within the Tönnies Group
2. Rapid development of adequate and appropriate accommodation for the employees of the Group at the sites
3. Comprehensive digital time recording at all German sites within the Group
4. Integration programme for improving social acceptance at our sites
5. Education and training programme with a focus on employees joining the Group

The specified regulations will be addressed with immediate effect and should be valid from 01 January 2021 wherever possible.
“We want to continue to produce meat in Germany in the future. But to do so, we need public acceptance” said Clemens Tönnies. “This is true for all chains in meat production and explicitly includes agriculture”.