On July 31, 2024, the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer (49, CDU), visited the Dresden-based case manufacturer CooolCase. The visit was divided into two parts: In the first part, state parliament candidate Frank Kromer (54, CDU), member of the Bundestag Dr. Markus Reichel (56, CDU) and Baden-Württemberg CDU parliamentary group leader Manuel Hagel (36) met with the management of CooolCase. In the second part, Michael Kretschmer answered questions from the CooolCase workforce.
Meeting with the CooolCase management
In the smaller circle with Kromer, Reichel and Hagel, an intensive exchange took place on the business management topics of CooolCase. Hagel showed great interest in the economic aspects and asked specific questions about the company's development. Certainly also against the background that a large proportion of the machines at CooolCase come from the company Trumpf from Baden-Württemberg.
Christian Michel, the senior managing director, spoke about the current challenges in the industry and presented his energy transition project, which CooolCase is currently implementing. In future, at least 40 percent of the energy required will be produced on the roof of the lightweight construction hall using film solar panels.
CooolCase is also demonstrating how inclusion can be implemented in everyday working life through its cooperation with the Evangelische Behindertenhilfe. The case manufacturer employs 40 members of staff from the disability charity, who work in areas such as manual assembly and sawing. "This integration not only offers employees career prospects, but also promotes productive cooperation," says Michel.
CooolCase, a long-established company from Dresden, emerged from the Robotron-Computerkombinat in 1993 and celebrated its 30th anniversary in September 2023. The company specializes in the production of sophisticated and sometimes innovative case designs. Projects include the parcel butler for Telekom and DHL, server cabinets for data centers as well as assemblies for power storage units and inverter housings for solar systems. Thanks to an investment of three million euros in new laser welding technology, CooolCase will double its laser welding capacity by spring 2024. The company is currently undergoing a generational change. With Melinda Krusemark (née Michel) and brother Marvin Michel, the children will run the company in the future.
Question and answer session in the canteen
In the second part of the visit, Minister President Kretschmer joined the CooolCase employees in the canteen to answer their questions. He highlighted the successes of the last five years, such as the recruitment of 1,000 new police officers and teachers and the doubling of the master craftsman bonus. Kretschmer also reported on the negotiations with the world's largest chip manufacturer TSMC, which has opted for Saxony, supported by investments of around 10 billion euros.
Michael Kretschmer and Frank Kromer (CDU) answer questions from CooolCase employees. (Image: Thomas Wolf)
Education and ensuring the supply of teachers was a key topic. Kretschmer emphasized the successful education partnership with Baden-Württemberg and addressed the challenges posed by the high number of refugees. He referred to the need to reconsider part-time requests for better-paid jobs in order to promote full-time employment.
Topics from the workforce
The CooolCase workforce took the opportunity to address important concerns directly to the Minister President and the other politicians present.
One employee wanted to know what Saxony was planning to do to have more children and ensure their education. Kretschmer emphasized the successes in education to date, particularly thanks to the partnership with Baden-Württemberg. "If we had a partnership with Bremen, for example, our high school graduates would have an education deficit of two years. We would not be where we are today," explained Kretschmer. At the same time, he addressed the difficulties of recent years, which have placed a heavy burden on the supply of teachers: In 2015, 1 million refugees with children arrived; in 2022, 1.2 million refugees from Ukraine arrived, mainly women with children. Around 300,000 refugees with children are currently arriving every year. These numbers must be reduced, otherwise the system can no longer cope. The border controls that have been introduced are proving successful and the numbers have already been halved. The Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act requires employers to accommodate part-time requests from employees. This leads to a higher number of part-time employees, particularly in better-paid jobs. "Something has to change here," emphasized Kretschmer, who pointed out that prosperity in Germany was not achieved with half-time, but with full-time work and 40 hours per week. Kretschmer did not directly address the point of increasing the birth rate.
Another employee asked about measures to keep local public transport prices stable and prevent DVB from increasing prices every year. Kretschmer referred to efforts in 2020 and 2021 to connect rural areas more closely to public transport and make them more attractive. He criticized the effects of the 49-euro ticket, as the high subsidies from the state for subsidizing the Deutschlandticket put a heavy strain on budgets for the expansion of public transport in rural areas.
A father of two reported on the difficulty of finding an affordable 4-room apartment in Dresden. Frank Kromer (CDU) took up this point and explained that the CDU was aware of the issue and that he was particularly committed to it. In view of the predicted population of 600,000 people in Dresden by 2040, he said that haste and pragmatism were required. The CDU plans to promote home ownership with the Sachsengeld by offsetting parts of the land transfer tax. At the same time, building regulations and energy efficiency standards must be massively reduced in order to avoid making construction projects unnecessarily expensive. "However, that won't happen with the Greens," emphasized Kretschmer, referring to the necessary balance between economy and ecology.
Another important topic was security. One employee expressed concerns about sending his 18-year-old daughter to study in Leipzig due to the increasing number of knife attacks and rapes. Kretschmer took these concerns seriously, but also pointed out the one-sided media consumption that leads to an exaggerated sense of insecurity. Yes, the rise in crime can also be explained by refugees and even tougher action needs to be taken here. Deportations to peaceful areas in Syria and Afghanistan must be stepped up. At the same time, Kretschmer emphasized that, as a society, we must be careful not to lump all foreigners together. Many of those who work here and have built up a livelihood would also like to see tougher police action. There should be no tolerance and penalties should be imposed immediately.
Final statement from Baden-Württemberg
Manuel Hagel concluded the visit with a positive outlook. He praised Saxony for its progress and emphasized that the federal state had already overtaken Baden-Württemberg in many areas, such as investment in research and development and infrastructure. "Saxony simply works," Hagel emphasized, and it must stay that way.
