Kräuter Mix’s new bell to ring three times a day throughout the company’s production halls
What weighs almost 30 pounds, hangs some 13 feet above the ground and rings throughout the company’s production halls? Why, it’s Kräuter Mix’s new bronze bell, cast specially for the Abtswind-based manufacturer and inscribed with the firm’s name. A special dedication service on September 17 heard it ring for the first time.
Bell to ring to mark handover
From now on, the bell in Production Hall 12 will ring at 6am, 2pm and 10pm respectively to mark shift changes and signal the end of work. Its clear chime is a nod to a centuries-old tradition that structured daily life long before clocks became the norm.
Erich Eyßelein, a retired Protestant pastor from Prichsenstadt, and Kai Söder, a Catholic priest in Üchtelhausen/Hesselbach, both brought this history to life at a non-denominational dedication service for the company bell.
Ecumenical consecration of the bell with Priest Kai Söder (left) and retired Protestant Pastor Erich Eyßelein
Installation shaft or church tower?
The idea for a Kräuter Mix bell came about almost by chance during the reconstruction of Hall 12 following a fire at the company. The project including a two-story installation shaft for a new sprinkler control center and substation, and the project team liked to joke it looked a bit like a church tower. “While talking with our site manager Peter Schimmel, I came up with the idea – initially more as a joke – of adding a bell to the shaft,” recalled André Metz, plant manager at Kräuter Mix.
But the idea soon took on a life of its own. Schimmel, a civil engineer from Dettelbach, located a traditional bell foundry – the long-established company Grassmayr in Innsbruck – to cast Kräuter Mix’s very own bell. The site manager then generously decided to donate it to Kräuter Mix. “It was a gesture of gratitude and recognition for our successful partnership on the Hall 12 reconstruction project,” Schimmel explained.
A new bell for a new hall
For safety reasons, the bell could not be installed in the originally intended location, but has instead found a fitting new home in a 13-foot niche in the new Hall 12. But this change in location is by no means a downgrade: the bell is already an important part of the hall and a powerful symbol of what teamwork can achieve. Bernhard Mix, Kräuter Mix managing partner, also emphasized that the dedication additionally carries a symbolic wish for protection from dangers such as storms, rain or fire. Together with the construction and project team, he heard the bell ring for the first time at the dedication in Hall 12.
