An apprenticeship. A career. A story that will be remembered.
Hermann Freitag began his apprenticeship as a machinist at Lödige in 1956. What followed were almost five decades filled with engineering, responsibility and extraordinary projects all over the world. 70 years later, he has returned to us once more and shared his story.
7 questions for Hermann The story of Hermann in four chapters
It all began in 1956.
Sometimes a tip from a neighbour can determine the direction your career takes. That’s exactly how it was for Hermann Freitag.
A neighbour from Neuenbeken had already completed his apprenticeship at Lödige and encouraged him to start there too. Faced with the choice between a commercial and a technical apprenticeship, he ultimately made a conscious decision to go for the technical route.
On 1 April 1956, Hermann began his three-and-a-half-year apprenticeship as a machinist at Lödige.
Back then, apprenticeships were a world apart. The young employees learnt a great deal directly on the production floor. Hermann worked at the lathe, learnt to weld and, amongst other things, manufactured brakes for drive systems. Incidentally, he still has his original apprenticeship contract from that time.
“Alois always had a way of inspiring people.”
Hermann still remembers the company’s founder, Alois Lödige, to this day. He describes him as someone who could win people over to his ideas – and who, in doing so, also played a part in Hermann’s decision to join Lödige.
From the workbench out into the world
Hermann’s time at Lödige was far from over when he passed his final examination in October 1959. On the contrary: it had only just begun.
Just a few months later, he set off on his first installation job in the Westerwald. The Netherlands and Austria soon followed. The young machinist became an experienced fitter – and those early trips led to a career spent travelling between international construction sites and ever-larger projects.
Amsterdam, Singapore, Philadelphia, Copenhagen, Stockholm: Hermann worked for Lödige in many places around the world. In the early 1980s, a project even took him right into the heart of the Libyan desert. He slept in a shipping container; there was no telephone on site. If Hermann wanted to speak to Lödige, he had to travel all the way to Tripoli.
What sounds like an adventure story today was, back then, part of his everyday working life.
Colleagues and clients became companions on the journey
From 1982 onwards, Hermann took charge of the installation management for major projects. His work for the Dutch airline KLM at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport had a particularly profound impact on him. There, he was involved in major projects for many years and managed construction sites with, at times, more than 100 people working on them.
Yet when Hermann talks about this today, he doesn’t start by discussing technology or the scale of the projects. He talks about people.
Business contacts developed into personal relationships, some of which lasted for decades. Former colleagues from KLM would even visit him privately back then to enjoy a meal together.
In 1994, Hermann finally moved from the construction site to an office-based role and into project management for air freight systems. He officially retired in 2002 – but remained with Lödige in an advisory capacity until 2005.
Almost five decades – and still connected to this day
Anyone who listens to Hermann quickly realises that there is more to this long period of service than just a number.
He himself probably best describes his attitude to his work: “I’ve always viewed the company as if it were my own. That’s how I’ve represented the company worldwide.”
Seventy years after he began his apprenticeship, this connection can still be felt. To mark our 75th anniversary of apprenticeships at Lödige Industries, we have therefore invited Hermann back once more – this time not for a project, but to tell his story.
7 Questions for Hermann
“A neighbour had started his apprenticeship there two or three years earlier and said to me, ‘Why don’t you come to Lödige too?’” Added to this was his personal contact with Alois Lödige, whom Hermann remembers as an enthusiastic person. So, in the end, he decided to pursue a technical apprenticeship.
The training was very hands-on. Among other things, Hermann learnt to weld and spent several weeks working on the lathe. One of his main tasks was building brakes for drive systems. Unlike today, there was no traditional training workshop to begin with – the trainees were involved directly in production from an early stage.
Very quickly. Hermann completed his apprenticeship in October 1959. By December, he was already in the Westerwald, where he installed two lifts together with a colleague. Projects in numerous countries followed later on.
Vor allem seine Zeit bei KLM in Amsterdam. Hermann war über Jahre an Projekten für die Fluggesellschaft beteiligt. Besonders wichtig waren ihm dabei die Menschen: Zu einigen der damaligen Ansprechpartner entstanden Freundschaften, die bis heute bestehen.
Libya is likely to be right at the top of the list. In the early 1980s, Hermann was working on a project in the middle of the desert. His colleagues were housed in shipping containers. To get hot water, they initially bought a saucepan – and to speak to Lödige on the phone, Hermann had to take a taxi to Tripoli.
Enormous. Hermann, for example, still remembers a time when parts of the administration were housed in a hut on Frankfurter Weg. Today, he works on the modern Lödige Industries Campus – a working environment that, for him, bears little resemblance to the early days.
For Hermann, the answer in the interview was clear: he wanted to represent the company everywhere as if it were his own. This attitude has characterised his entire working life – and that sense of connection has remained even many years after his official retirement.
Are you interested?
Andreas Vieth will be happy to answer any initial questions you may have.
Email: personalwesen@lodige.com
Contact person: Andreas Vieth
Tel. +49 05251/2980-726
