Waldkirch, 8 November 2022. Gisela Sick, wife of the company founder Dr. Erwin Sick and an honorary citizen of the town of Waldkirch, is celebrating her 100th birthday today. A small reception in her honor will take place at the Gisela Sick Bildungshaus in Waldkirch. With her attitude and values, Gisela Sick has played, and continues to play, a decisive role in the family-owned company.
Gisela Sick, born on 8 November 1922 in Aachen, can look back on a notable life’s work. She still has considerable influence on the family-owned company founded 76 years ago. Mrs. Sick’s ethical and cultural influence and timeless ideals continue to provide valuable orientation for employees worldwide, and helped pave the way for the sensor producer becoming a modern company.
“Gisela Sick is a role model for SICK’s employees. She has significantly influenced the family-owned company and, since the death of her husband in 1988, courageously led it into an international future. We are very grateful for this. Today we celebrate the extraordinary birthday of an extraordinary woman who has never lost her down-to-earth nature. The entire Executive Board and all the employees wholeheartedly congratulate her,” says Dr. Mats Gökstorp, Chairman of the Executive Board of SICK AG.
Gisela Sick supported her husband actively and enthusiastically before and after the company “Firma Erwin Sick, Lichtelektrische Spezialgeräte” [Special Photoelectric Devices] was founded in 1946. She initially coordinated both the small company and their family life in a small 20 m² barracks without electricity or running water. Her husband focused on his inventions. And Gisela Sick also began committing more of her time to the growing business. She was thus, for example, personally present for the founding of the subsidiaries in Japan and the USA. She also dedicated herself to training and further education, the promotion of young people, and the wellbeing of the personnel. The move from Munich to the Black Forest in 1954 and, two years later, to Waldkirch heralded the steady growth of the company: There were 150 employees in 1960, the Group now stands for intelligent sensor technology with a worldwide presence and more than 11,000 personnel. From 1990 to 1999, Gisela Sick was a member of the company’s advisory committee and later the Supervisory Board, of which she is still the honorary chairperson. Even as a 100-year-old, she still follows the development of the family company with great attention and passion.
Gisela Sick’s attitude characterizes the company and its employees
After the horrors of the Second World War there was only one logical conclusion for Mrs. Sick and her husband: SICK products should only be developed for the benefit of humanity – a principle that still applies today.
Employees all over the world are thanking Gisela Sick on her special day with a birthday present: personal memories, anecdotes and pictures of shared experiences have been gathered together in a book to be handed over at today’s ceremony.
Gisela Sick shares her personal interest in music and the fine arts generously, sponsoring students, for example, with scholarships. She gave the company a Steinway grand piano to celebrate its 70-year existence, and organized piano concerts for employees. On the occasion of her 80th birthday in 2002, Gisela Sick founded the Gisela and Erwin Sick Foundation to expand her commitment to education beyond the company. The Gisela Sick Bildungshaus, in which she is celebrating her 100th birthday today, is an important project for the Foundation. The building stands for a holistic training and further education concept. It provides young people with access to education, music and healthy food.
Gisela Sick is happy to have passed on her life’s work and that of her deceased husband into the hands of the next generations: “One cannot alter the fact that one gets older. One must, however, make sure that the legacy is passed on to the next generations early on. We have managed this very well. I am proud of my family, who are all committed both to the company and, beyond it, to good causes.”
Gisela Sick does not find it difficult to describe how she helped shape the company and what she still finds important: “A company can only be so successful when its people work together. No individual could ever achieve this. Only functional interactions ensure long-term success,” says Gisela Sick.
Awards and honors:
2002 Medal for Outstanding Business Achievement from state of Baden-Württemberg
2009 Medal of Merit from state of Baden-Württemberg
2011 Honorary citizen of the town of Waldkirch
2012 German Federal Cross of Merit
SICK is one of the world’s leading producers for sensor-based industrial applications. The company, founded by Dr. Erwin Sick in 1946 and based in Waldkirch-im-Breisgau near Freiburg, is a technology and market leader. It has a worldwide presence with more than 50 subsidiaries and associated companies, as well as numerous sales offices. SICK achieved Group sales of about EUR 2 bn. during the 2021 fiscal year with more than 11,000 employees worldwide. More information on SICK is available at www.sick.com