Company Graepel – sowing flowers for biodiversity

Graepel GmbH & Co.KG in Löningen has planted a flowering area on its company grounds this spring in cooperation with the responsible department of the local association “Zweckverband Hasetal”. The manufacturer of metal components and supplier to the automotive industry for commercial vehicles and agricultural machinery is contributing the company's sustainability philosophy with this project.

"Fast, smooth and uncomplicated" is how Jan-Dirk Albers from Graepel Löningen GmbH & Co. KG describes the cooperation with the flower strips organizers of the association with regard to the implementation of the first, company-owned flowering area. Albers works in strategic purchasing - in his leisure time, he is active in hunting and had already made positive experience with the flowering strip managers in advance. When he received a flyer from the association Zweckverband Hasetal at the beginning of the year, everything happened very quickly: "It said that not only municipalities and private individuals can have a flowering area created, but also companies that have free areas available on their premises. That got me thinking, because we at Graepel Löningen indeed have unused areas on our premises where only lawn grows all year round. Our directors were also immediately enthusiastic about the idea and asked us in the purchasing department to get the campaign rolling.”

A flowering area with little effort

Once contact had been made with the flower strip manager Karin Grever, she visited the Löningen-based company promptly in spring to get a first impression of the available areas. And due to her experience she could quickly present a solution: "The decision was made for a sunny area of around 1,600 square meters where the conditions are optimal for sowing our so-called "Hasetal mixture" consisting of a colorful mix of native wildflowers and grasses." 

To start with, at the end of May the area was first milled and reworked by a contracting company – and one week later, the seeding was made. "Except for the provision of the area, all work steps were coordinated for us by the flower strip management, the professional advice and implementation went smoothly and uncomplicatedly - we can only recommend others to make use of this offer, especially because there are no costs for the company itself," adds Jan-Dirk Albers.

Lively hustle and bustle 

At Graepel Löningen, the new flowering area is not only a visual benefit, but the company is also pleased to have created an important habitat for the preservation of biodiversity in the local valley of river Hase. "When we look at the area today, we can already observe many insects and other species that are gradually settling on our flowering area - there's a lot going on. But it's not just nature that's happy; we're also getting positive feedback from our colleagues," says Albers. Since the "Hasetal mixture" includes perennial plants and grasses, the company would like to install some seatings in this flowered area next year, where the employees can spend their lunch breaks.