In the year of its 75th anniversary, SKYLOTEC will establish a foundation for charitable purposes. The family-owned company with headquarters in Neuwied would like to support projects in areas such as youth development, education or environmental protection as well as people in need. Managing Director Dr Kai Rinklake wants to name the foundation after his mother Karin and provide it with start-up capital of 500,000 euros by the end of the year.
From what was once a small business, SKYLOTEC has developed into a globally active group of companies since 1947. The family business has been growing for decades and is an important employer for the Middle Rhine region. This development is also due to the positive general conditions. “We have to be grateful for having experienced such economic conditions, but above all peace and freedom, since 1947. It was only because of this that we were able to develop so successfully until today. I am aware that this cannot be taken for granted,” says Dr Kai Rinklake. The managing partner of SKYLOTEC adopted this attitude from his mother in his childhood. “She taught me early on to be humble and to always value that we were privileged over other people.” In memory of his deceased mother, SKYLOTEC will establish the Karin Rinklake Foundation, which will start with a capital of 500,000 euros. Support will be given exclusively to charitable causes – for example in the area of youth development, education, environmental protection or aid projects for people in need.
On the photo (© SKYLOTEC GmbH):As Managing Director at SKYLOTEC, Dr Kai Rinklake establishes a foundation that will bear his mother's name
For Rinklake, the establishment of the foundation is on the one hand a personal matter. On the other hand, it is also to be understood as a clear signal that SKYLOTEC as a company is aware of its social responsibility – and also faces up to it. As a manufacturer of protective equipment, it works every day on solutions that make people's lives safer. This is firmly anchored in the values and culture of the family-owned company. “We see this as our small contribution to making the world a better place. We take responsibility for that. I fundamentally see it as the social task of an entrepreneur and also of our economy to take responsibility,” says Dr Kai Rinklake.
Employees provide another impulse
Rinklake had had the idea of setting up a foundation for some time. He began thinking about it in July 2021, when there was a terrible flood disaster in the Ahr valley, a region near the company's headquarters in Neuwied, Rhineland-Palatinate. A colleague was hit hard and lost everything. “Many of our employees offered and provided help for him and others affected at that time. That impressed me deeply and made me proud. It once again showed the family character and strong cohesion that has always characterised SKYLOTEC,” says Rinklake. Due to the events in the Ahr valley, some colleagues approached their boss and suggested setting up a permanent relief fund, organisation or foundation for causes such as a flood disaster. It was another impulse for Rinklake: “The idea that I had been carrying around with me for quite some time solidified once again from that point on.”