WHEELS day care celebrates anniversary
For eleven years now, the offspring of WHEELS Logistics employees in Hiltrup have had a place in the company’s own day care center, because it was already clear in 2012 that WHEELS Logistics wanted to go its own way when it came to child care.
Combining career and family is not easy. Many employees are all the more relieved that the Kinderladen offers the opportunity to look after their youngest family members between the ages of 0 and 3. Verena Patrias knows the balancing act between childcare and work, as she is not only part of the Corporate Board, but a mother of two herself. “For us as a company, it is a matter of course to support employees when it comes to combining work and family. We attach great importance to this, because for us, family and career are not mutually exclusive, if only because of our DNA as a family business.”
Through a cooperation with the German Police University, the company was able to establish its own daycare center for children. A building was specially prepared for this purpose, which has a kitchen, a bedroom, a large common room and an outdoor area with a playground.
Here, the two independent social pedagogues Ann-Kathrin and Bruno de Oliveira Coelho look after up to nine children. Ann-Kathrin since day one and Bruno for 6 years.
“I was particularly impressed by the quick implementation back then, especially the cooperation with the Jungendamt of the city of Münster,” recalls Verena Patrias. From the first idea, to the concept, to the opening, just six months passed. A mammoth project. And there is never a standstill here; the children’s store is continually being refurbished and renovated, most recently in July 2023.
A huge relief
“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to have our children cared for here right on our doorstep. This means we can get there quickly and are also lucky enough to be able to take advantage of childcare times that fit in with our working hours,” says employee Tobias Messing. Certainly not a rule in times of shortage of skilled workers and lack of daycare places.
For WHEELS, the investment is worthwhile, because it is an investment in its own team.
