“Preserving tradition does not mean keeping the ashes; it means keeping the flame alive”

Jean Jaurès, French politician

This could well be the Nighswonger family’s motto when it comes to succession in the management team, or perhaps is a sporting analogy more fitting?

We may not be training for the Olympics here at Gechem, but we don’t stop to pass the baton either; instead, we practise running together. Even if we have one baton in mind, the business of a medium-sized chemical company encompasses many disciplines, all of which need to be performed together and at a high level. So a sprint tends to turn into an endurance run – through thick and thin – up and down – and cross-country through the business sectors.

The “Gechem-Rallye” startet in September 2023, when Thomas Nighswonger joined the management team. A first baton was handed over shortly afterwards, with him taking responsibility for sustainable procurement. Further responsibilities followed. As a team, the two Nighswongers intend to run a few more laps until the many details of the extensive business have been unravelled and the transformations into a future-proof company have been implemented.

In doing so, here in Kleinkarlbach they are not relying on individual competition, but on team spirit together with their employees, suppliers, customers and the finely woven network of partners and industry colleagues.

So that we can look back on success in and for the region for the next 165 years as well.