It was the crowning glory of a successful project: last December, the Wilhelm Frank Foundation invited the three winners of its second "Connecting Windows" project to Germany. A varied program with interesting experiences and exciting encounters awaited the international team there.

It was a reunion and a meeting at the same time. Simin Wang from China, Rômolo Lins de Jesus and Anderson Mota from Brazil had already met virtually ten times. The first time was at the kick-off event for the "Connecting Windows" project, with which the Wilhelm Frank Foundation promotes international exchange. The participants introduced themselves and their respective home countries to each other using a personal object and formed teams. The three then met repeatedly in video conferences to develop and coordinate ideas for joint project work. Across national borders and time zones. Hurdles that the three young Roto employees overcame together.

The team meticulously immersed themselves in the subject matter and produced a great result together. The result is a finely tuned video composition in which the group explores their view of their respective home countries, our world, the future and the unifying element of the window. An achievement that was awarded first place by the competition jury - and rewarded with the main prize, a joint trip to Germany. There, Simin, Rômolo and Anderson were finally able to get to know each other in real life last December.

Five days, numerous experiences

During their trip, Simin, Rômolo and Anderson visited three Roto locations, including Roto Frank Treppen GmbH in Augsburg. There they were welcomed by Michael Marien (left, Managing Director Roto Frank Treppen GmbH), Annika Dorn (right, Marketing Roto Frank Treppen GmbH) and Samantha Wilson (2nd from right, apprentice Roto Frank Treppen GmbH).

From Stuttgart, the winners experienced five eventful days that were all about intercultural exchange. To kick things off, they visited the television tower and the Christmas market in the state capital of Baden-Württemberg. In the days that followed, the international trio visited Roto DST in Bad Mergentheim, the Roto factory in Leinfelden and the Roto staircase factory in Augsburg.

Each of these locations had put together its own program, during which Simin, Rômolo and Anderson were able to get to know many of their German colleagues. Exciting insights were also provided by the respective managers, who had taken a lot of time to accompany the Chinese-Brazilian team in their company. Simin, Rômolo and Anderson were offered a special highlight in Leinfelden: There, their project work was honored in a small yet refined setting - and then celebrated at a joint dinner with the family of Roto founder Wilhelm Frank as well as Dr. Eckhard Keill, Holger Hipp and Annemarie Schuth from the company's top management and co-executives and advisory board members of the foundation.

When the three young people made their way back to their respective home countries at the end of their trip to Germany, they had many exciting impressions in their luggage - and the knowledge that they had made new friends as well as a trip.

In Leinfelden, the winners were honored by Dr. Eckhard Keill (left, CEO of Roto Frank Holding AG and Chairman of the Wilhelm Frank Foundation) and Holger Hipp (right, Head of Group Accounting at Roto Frank Holding AG and member of the foundation's advisory board).