Mourning for Gisela Sick

When Dr Erwin Sick received a license from the American military government to set up his own engineering office in a barrack in Vaterstetten near Munich in 1946, Gisela Sick organized the company and family life in the 20 m2 of space in the barrack. She did the bookkeeping and wrote the first patent applications for optical-electronic devices on her typewriter. In 1954, the family moved to Oberkirch (Baden) to have more space for production. Just two years later, they moved to Waldkirch. From the mid-1960s until the 1990s, development work was also carried out at a site in Munich. During this time, the family lived in Waldkirch and Munich. In the 1970s, the foundations were laid for today's company premises in Waldkirch and also for the internationalization of Sick. Gisela Sick was also personally involved in the founding of subsidiaries, for example in the USA and Japan.

When Dr. Erwin Sick died in 1988, Gisela Sick did not hesitate for a minute to keep the company independent and gave the management and the many long-serving employees decisive support for the growing business development and moved the center of her life to Waldkirch. As a member of the Advisory Board that was founded, from 1994 of the Supervisory Board of Sick AG and from 1999 as Honorary Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board, she supported all fundamental decisions on the way to becoming a global company.

Cultural legacy

To this day, Sick employees are guided by one guiding principle and set of values: Sick products should be developed for the benefit of people. The Sick couple committed themselves to this principle after the Second World War. Gisela Sick was resolutely committed to the well-being of the employees. She stood for entrepreneurial foresight by, among other things, specifically demanding and promoting training and further education, even beyond the company. She also established the 'Gisela and Erwin Sick Foundation' for this purpose. Many initiatives to improve the compatibility of family and career, particularly in childcare, and to support young people are directly attributable to Gisela Sick. With the 'Gisela Sick Bildungshaus' in Waldkirch, she publicly underlined her commitment to education and music and gave the town an impressive institution. On November 13, 2012, Gisela Sick was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit.

Gisela Sick was closely associated with the company until the end and for many of the approximately 12,000 employees was the company's identity-forming personality. Dr. Robert Bauer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board: "We are losing a great personality in Gisela Sick. With her natural authority combined with a great social commitment, Gisela Sick had an impact far beyond the company. The modest matter-of-factness with which she lived her values is a legacy and underlines her impressive life's work. My sincere condolences go out to the Sick family."