V-LINE 20/30 Anniversary - a week full of highlights
Sehnde, , 06/06/2009
Fantastic atmosphere, lots of laughing, a whole basket of new ideas and suggestions as well as much to exchange and communicate. There is no doubt that the months of intensive preparations and planning were worth it - The V-LINE Convention Week with its programme full of highlights was a huge success in its 2009 Anniversary Year.
It's Party time!
It kicked off on Friday, 29th May. Around 480 guests invited from seventeen nations : Bahrain, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Finland, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Slovakia ,Turkey, Saudi Arabia, USA and, of course, Germany - had made their way to the V-LINE head office in Sehnde to celebrate the TWENTY-THIRTY Anniversary in the large marquee.
In keeping with the occasion a series of introductory welcoming speeches were made. The new Niedersachsen Economic Minister, Dr. Philipp Rösler, confidently enlarged upon the fundamental roll of the owner-managed medium-sized company in Niedersachsen with details concerning the topic of MRO supply and the Deputy Mayor of Sehnde, Maike Vorholt, stressed the great importance of V-LINE to the region. Further congratulators repeatedly provided gaiety with their amusing phrasing and insider references for the guests, so it was no wonder that Mohammed Kaleem Butt, President of the Varioline Group in Lahore, Pakistan did not let the opportunity pass to spice up recollections of his over 30-year close friendship with Detlev Daues, full of warmth and gratitude, with scores of anecdotes. In contrast to this nostalgia, the perfect gift, presented by the employees' representatives Annette Schneider, Timo Hilgert, and Trevor McAuley alluded to the future: A model of a V-LINE truck embodying the vision of placing the entire responsibility of the supply chain of factory spare parts in the hands of V-LINE.
While guests were tempted to help themselves to an amazing choice of exquisite delicacies from the enormous Four Continents Buffett, keyboard wizard Lutz Krajenski and his combo lured one and all onto the dance floor with their hot sound and it was perfectly obvious that the musical director of the Roger Cicero Band hit exactly the right note on his share of the entertainment. "There has never been as much dancing as there has been this year" enthused Detlev Daues. And, at the tables, well into the morning hours, light-hearted and interesting conversations and contacts took place between V-LINE staff and families and clients and business friends, surpassing all boundaries of language and nations.
Along the Spree and through the Reichstag
When you are celebrating, you need time to recover. Keeping with this wise thought Saturday was devoted to recuperation and on Sunday over 60 VIP participants were ready for sightseeing tour of Berlin. Included on the program was a boat trip along the Spree, going through the picturesque Old
City. Thanks to energetic support of Dr. Maria Flachsbart, a member of the Bundestag, guests were also able to be offered a special highlight; an extensive tour of the Reichstag, even on Whit Sunday.
Professional Exchange and Discussion
The annual V-LINE meetings are known for not just being welcome opportunities for conversation, party and entertainment, but also for being platforms for serious professional exchange and business focused dialogue.
The keynote speaker on Monday, Minnesota consultant Gary Cohen, fascinated with a presentation of the "Just Ask" Leadership Concept: The founder of a state-of-the-art Call Centre, with 13 subsidiaries in the USA and Canada, made it clear that the difference between managing and leading lies above all
in bringing the right questions to the table at the decisive moment. The afternoon speaker, Alexander Willems, from Strategic Corporate Assessment Systems of Australia, received much attention for his interesting presentation of the software solution RCM-Turbo™, a Windows based tool for Reliability Centered Maintenance.
Tuesday morning sessions at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel on the Hanoverian Maschsee were devoted to a discussion programme with representatives from clients from Saudi Arabia, amongst others, on strategic and new business developments at their plants in managing inventory and maintenance.
In the afternoon, Californian economist, Peter E. Franke, EMEA Director Business Development for IHS, Inc., the globally leading business information content data bank developer, devoted himself to topics on "Future MRO Strategies for a More Globally Competitive and Green World".
The following two days were reserved for internal discussions at the V-LINE Head Office in Sehnde before the company participants at this year's Convention Week were sent home with the sensational one hundred and sixteen page V-LINE TWENTY/THIRTY Anniversary Book of colour photographs and varied written contributions about the company's history in their luggage.
About V-LINE
The V-LINE group of companies was founded in 1979 and has its group headquarters in Sehnde near Hanover, Germany. It is one of the most important global providers of original spare parts direct from the manufacturer to industrial plants, working with more than 20,000 suppliers. The use of original parts guarantees optimal handling and the longest possible equipment service life. The use of the innovative E-procurement-solution V-Ware™ ensures considerably less transaction and procurement costs and guaranteed transit times, and regular collective dispatches keep storage needs to a minimum. V-LINE, in addition to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, has operations in Japan, China, Mexico, Brazil and the USA. For further information please visit V-LINE’s website at: www.v-line.com or call by phone—Saudi Arabia: +966 (3) 3407940, EMEA: +49 (5138) 7008, USA: +1-732-493-1400, Japan: +81 (66) 675 3001, Brazil: +55 (11) 66712958, China: +86 (10) 84920049, Mexico: +52 (2222) 536396.
