Long-term partnerships are a trademark as well as a sign of the quality of the WILD Group. These qualities are often built and maintained by team members such as Annette Stampfer and Stefan Werkl, whom we would like to congratulate on their 25th and 35th anniversaries at PHOTONIC and WILD! 

When Annette Stampfer, Head of Sales PHOTONIC, and Stefan Werkl, Head of Business Unit Optical Technologies WILD GmbH, think back to their early days in 1999 and 1989, they both must smile: “I was one of the first in the company to have access to a computer. With 20 MB of memory. We shared the computer, as well as a telephone, with several people,” says Werkl. Annette Stampfer was even invited to her job interview via telegram and remembers that there was only one computer for the whole company back then.

Close customer relationships

The development that the WILD Group and its customers and employees have undergone since then is enormous. Still, Annette Stampfer and Stefan Werkl, with 25 and 35 years of service respectively, are an exception. However, it is one that many envy the WILD Group for. After all, long-serving employees are often a guarantee for long-term customer relationships. “These work best when the people involved also get on well with each other on a personal level. It is also important to know the industry-specific requirements and the customers’ products very well and to identify with them. It often takes years to internalise both,” Stefan Werkl is convinced. He himself started out as a work planner for assembly and was initially responsible for  relocating products and providing technical support for series production. Major ophthalmology projects such as Phoromate or Lensmaster as well as prestige projects such as the Streetside camera for Microsoft fell within his area of responsibility. He was never afraid of new challenges. “It was important to me to constantly learn new skills and establish them at WILD”, says Werkl. He has built up valuable expertise with every new product and has always found the range of devices developed and manufactured in-house to be an enrichment. He has another explanation for his long service to the company: “I believe that you should work for a company at least until you have learnt from your own mistakes. That’s the only way to develop professionally and personally.”

Customers and colleagues benefit from her experience and expertise

Annette Stampfer, who recently celebrated her 25th anniversary at PHOTONIC, also believes that young people today often give up too quickly. As a long-term employee, she is convinced that her colleagues benefit from her knowledge and experience. Customers also appreciate the fact that they can trust and rely on her. This increases customer loyalty and satisfaction. “Sometimes even friendships develop that make it easier to get through difficult times,” says Stampfer. After starting out as a management assistant, the Linz native switched to sales and has been Head of Sales since 2019. Her recipe for success includes consistency, assertiveness, communication at all levels as well as internal and external networking.

Anyone who is prepared to take on challenges, overcome boundaries, gain experience, and work consistently towards their goals has plenty of room for development and great opportunities at the WILD Group. That is advice which both of them can give to their young colleagues.

We would like to congratulate Annette Stampfer and Stefan Werkl on their anniversaries and thank them for their many years of loyalty, their tireless commitment, and their contribution to the success of the WILD Group. May they continue to play a key role in shaping our company’s history with their expertise and commitment!