uvex retiree cycles for a good cause

Our former field agent employee Reinhard Müller embodies our “Business is people” ideology like no other: he worked with great dedication to ensure the safety of our customers over a 25 year period. His passion and warmth meant that friendships were established on the back of his work. These friendships have stood the test of time, as strong today as ever before, even if Mr Müller has been retired for two years now. He explains: “Each year a few of us meet up together for a barbecue or a walk in the country.” These days, Reinhard dedicates his time to improving the lives of vulnerable people and has recently initiated a fundraising campaign to support seriously ill children and their families.

At the Kinderhospiz Sterntaler e. V., a children’s hospice located in Dudenhofen, there is also a human focus to their activities. The children’s hospice takes in terminally ill children and their families in order to provide support and relief as they attempt to come to terms with their situation. As with all inpatient children’s hospices in Germany, the charitable organisation is reliant on donations as there is still no state support for institutions of this kind. Supplies and accommodation for parents and siblings as well as cost-intensive projects, such as the recently completed extension which has created a new building in which children can be cared for, must be financed solely by donations.

Kinderhospiz Sterntaler e. V.

Here is where Reinhard Müller comes in: he intends to raise awareness and motivate people to donate with his bike trip right through the heart of Germany. Between 20 August 2016 and 16 September 2016, he will pedal from the southernmost point in Germany all the way to the northernmost tip. Reinhard is to tackle the 1,500 km between Einödsbach in the Allgäu and Aventoft in Schleswig-Holstein on a Simplon Kagu, a near maintenance-free touring bike, recommended to him by one of his sponsors, Olaf Klein from O. K. Cycling. Many other supporters will provide assistance in one form or another, although as of yet, Reinhard Müller is yet to find a fellow rider for his trip.

Naturally, Reinhard Müller will turn to uvex and Alpina for equipment such as a helmet for his cycle tour. In general, he still maintains a close link with his former employers: Reinhard Müller occasionally steps into the breach to represent uvex at event days or trade fairs so that his former colleagues do not have to break away from their day-to-day work. “To me, this represents the opportunity to hold on to a little something from my old place of work and maintain contacts”, he comments. “This is also an advantage for the company: I am able to take on board the wishes and occasionally “worries” of my contacts, some of whom I am already familiar with, and ensure a positive outcome for all involved.” It is this human connection which allows Reinhard Müller to properly tap in to the “Business is People” motto. However, he simply knows no differently: Before starting at uvex in 1989, Reinhard Müller worked for 14 years at Lego where they had a very similar philosophy: “Businesses are created by people”. In terms of their philosophies, Reinhard thought the two companies shared a common outlook: “This key message from Lego was equally evident right from the start at uvex as well. It was instrumental in my decision to want to work for uvex.”

Reinhard Müller spoke while representing uvex at the Leuna Dialog trade fair in April 2016. (Photographer: Egbert Schmidt)

Across 25 years of his working life, the world made considerable progress: in 1989, orders were still sent by post, whereas today PCs, iPads and mobile internet constitute the all too visible tip of the digitised iceberg. And where once Müller’s working day was meticulously planned out, today he enjoys the freedom of being able to spontaneously plan his major projects – be it paragliding in Austria, joining an “old timers” blues rock band or signing up for a walking holiday along the Amalfi coast next year. “One thing has, however, remained the same”, Reinhard Müller says in summarising his quarter century at uvex. “The philosophy: Business is people”.

Thank you, Reinhard Müller for your unrelenting dedication towards your colleagues, your business partners and above all your fellow human beings. We will be updating this article as soon as we receive the first reports from your cycle tour. You can also follow Reinhard Müller’s tour over his facebook page.

We have attached some key information on this campaign for anybody wishing to discover more about the route and opportunities to get involved.