Freudenberg committed to China

Social causes high priority for century-old family firm

Hanno D. Wentzler, the Asia regional representative for the century-old Freudenberg Group, will continue the diverse family-owned company's principle to also make it a responsible corporate citizen in China.

As a fifth-generation member of the Freudenberg family, Wentzler is particularly committed to the group's values and principles.

He has participated in annual summer camps in Haijin primary school, Sichuan province and talked with local children to better understand their lives.

"We are a part of the society, so have a great responsibility to society overall, and more specifically, to the communities where we run our businesses," said Wentzler.

He said a good corporate citizen should go far beyond just being a part of the local economic landscape - it should be committed to taking on social responsibilities.

In China, Freudenberg's corporate social responsibilities programs focus on areas like education. They have supported a migrant school in Shanghai and completely rebuilt an earthquake-hit school in Sichuan province. Worldwide, Freudenberg is operating many CSR projects, mainly executed by single Freudenberg companies or subsidiaries.

By supporting CSR activities, Wentzler said Freudenberg's employees are proud to participate, which also enhances employee loyalty. In addition, the social activities to support education will be beneficial in the long run as it will provide quality labor force also available to the group, said Wentzler.

Though some companies use CSR as a tool to expand brand awareness, Wentzler emphasized that "responsible acting is not intended to be a marketing tool or a brand building exercise".

Development in China

Freudenberg's strong growth in China established a solid financial foundation for its CSR activities in the past decade.

"Our economic success provides the base for all our programs and initiatives in the wider CSR context," said Wentzler.

When it entered China in the early 1990s, Wentzler said it was sometimes "an adventure". That adventure established a solid foundation for Freudenberg. Last year its sales in China surged by 1.3 billion yuan ($212 million), or about 33 percent, to 5.41 billion yuan.

With diverse businesses ranging from chemicals to automobile components, Freudenberg runs 23 manufacturing sites in China. Its investment in the country totaled 2.3 billion yuan (about $374 million) over the last 10 years.

The figures from Freudenberg showed that revenues in 2013 grew six-fold over 2004 and represented roughly 10 percent of global sales.

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