August/September 2017

Birth of KIRCHHOFF Culture Life with visit to documenta exhibition and Fanta 4 concert

With the two kick-off events in summer 2017, the foundation was set for KIRCHHOFF Culture Life’s cultural initiative. In August, 20 employees, together with members of the Kirchhoff family, travelled to Kassel for the documenta, the world’s most important exhibition of modern art. One month later, the lucky winners of the VIP tickets celebrated with 9,000 fans at the sold out, spectacular concert of the “Fantastischen Vier” in the Sauerlandpark Hemer, Germany.

January 2018

A successful Blind Date at the first “Culture Attack” afternoon

“Many surprises”, “an unforgettable afternoon”, “music, art, exhibitions, delicacies, drinks” – these were the promises leading up to the “Culture Attack”. What exactly awaited the visitors remained a secret until the event start. Around 350 employees from Attendorn and their families had come to the first cultural afternoon in the Stadthalle. There they experienced a performance from the KIRCHHOFF Choir, well-known musicians and a hands on approach to joining in the musical fun. The conclusion of the afternoon – a complete success!

May 2018

Discovering the change of colours, impressions, moods & seasonal cuisine together

A total of three 2.5 x 1.8 m canvases were designed with the artist Katja Oelmann during a live painting event. In the end it was clear that the paintings symbolized – “A unique and great experience that welded together!
“Cooking with Jochen” focused on a shared cooking experience with professional chef Jochen Brandt, in which the participants prepared a three-course menu with seasonal delicacies.

October/November 2018

The “Culture Attack” afternoon event starts its European tour in Poland and Hungary.

The major event that took place in October at our plant in Gliwice, Poland, and in November for Esztergom, Hungary, inspired hundreds of spectators. The initial program adapted to the country and its people as it traveled – top-class artists performed together with local acts. Any initial scepticism vanished quickly, the audience was on fire within a few minutes. The start of the “Culture Attack” European tour was a complete success, which made the anticipation for the following events grow.

January 2019

Impressive start to the new year with “Culture Attack” & Photo Workshops.

The year started for the staff in Iserlohn, Germany with drums, singing and impressive sounds. “Culture Attack” once again carried the audience away with its performances.

In addition, a photo workshop was launched at the German locations. The campaign, which works alongside employees throughout the year, involves a professional photographer helping to design a photo calendar as a Christmas present for the workforce.

March/April 2019

The First Sporting Events: Relax with Business Yoga and Do Something Good for the Body

KIRCHHOFF Culture Life kicked off its first sporting activity with Business Yoga in Iserlohn and Attendorn, Germany. In a cosy atmosphere, yoga teachers guided the participants through abdominal, back and shoulder exercises. In combination with final deep relaxation exercises, yoga promotes the health and well-being of the workforce. It was an overall great activity to counter desk work or operational jobs. In the future, further sporting events such as Taekwondo will follow.

May 2019

“Culture Attack” Inspires Creativity During Live Painting Action in Portugal & Hungary

The employees from Portugal had a lot of fun at the spontaneous cultural event, Culture Attack. They enthusiastically drummed with the musicians of Drum Conversation and celebrated the afternoon together in a beautiful atmosphere.

In Hungary, the employees swung brushes, rollers and cloths to create abstract art together on a huge canvas. The many smiling faces at the event spoke for themselves.

April / May 2020

The Starting Signal for Culture Life at KIRCHHOFF Ecotec

The popular “Culture Life” format from KIRCHHOFF Automotive has also been established at KIRCHHOFF Ecotec. However, the culture program started directly with livestreams for German-speaking colleagues from FAUN and ZOELLER, since the musical participatory events could not take place due to the Coronavirus pandemic.


November 2020

Already almost 8.000 trees planted

– and there are more planned! After Iserlohn and Osterholz-Scharmbeck, the third KIRCHHOFF Culture Life tree planting event took place in Attendorn and Wiesbaden on November 21 and the fourth on November 28. Originally, the events were planned as an employee campaign. However, due to the COVID-19 partial lockdown in the state, the local tree nursery Küch had to take over the planting of 1785 forest plants in the city forest of Attendorn.

February 2021

It’s Easy to Create Your Own Photo Calendar

In three photography workshops, the employees of KIRCHHOFF Ecotec learned everything they needed to know about selecting motifs and using a camera and cellphone camera. The goal of the workshop is to use their own photos and create a photo calendar for 2022, which will be presented to employees and customers as a gift.


May 2021

A Forest in Memory of Lore Kirchhoff

In memory of Lore Kirchhoff, the mother of Arndt G., Eva, Dr. Johannes F., and J. Wolfgang Kirchhoff, Dr. Johannes F. Kirchhoff and our cultural representative Thomas Kirchhoff have erected a bench and memorial plaque in the Lore Forest. The forest is located in northern Germany near the Ecotec site in Osterholz-Scharmbeck. The memorial plaque was designed by Melissa Kavanagh (daughter of Thomas Kirchhoff), and Julia and Kristina Hesse (daughters of Eva Kirchhoff).

November 2021

Setting an Example for the Environment

The KIRCHHOFF Culture Life tree planting campaign continues – 1,785 trees are to be planted at all KIRCHHOFF Group sites. Now, even more employees in Germany, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, and Italy have joined in. In the end, we will have planted almost 100,000 trees for the future. Together with local tree nurseries and forestry offices, employees and their families can take part in the campaign. By doing so, we want to strive to be global role models in preserving the environment and the future of our children.

May 2022

A Successful Surprise

In Iserlohn, employees and relatives swung their brushes and created a huge surprise on square canvases with black lines. There was musical accompaniment from UWAGA and participants were wearing white overalls. With many colourful paints, everyone’s imagination could run wild. Only the black lines were not allowed to be painted over. At the end of the event, a 12m x 3.20m colourful painting was unveiled in the Hot Forming hall – one that the participants of the surprise afternoon had created themselves.

September 2022

More artworks as a surprise event

In our latest campaign, employees design large-format, almost 50 m2 pictures depicting the history of the company, which we then hang in a prominent place in the production halls. The trick is that at first the employees don’t know what to expect. We invite them to a big surprise afternoon with music and art and promise a firework display of the senses, a feast of emotions and a surprising participatory event. A total of sixty 80x80cm canvases have to be painted. The result is then more than surprising and causes a lot of joy, admiration and pride among the participants.

On 11 September, these large pictures were taken as part of the family celebration at FAUN in Osterholz-Scharmbeck and on 23 September in Vinovo near Turin at the plant of FARID Industries, which belongs to the Kirchhoff Group.

A Lot is Planned for the Future

KIRCHHOFF Culture Life is a versatile, lively cultural programme that is constantly evolving.

Thomas Kirchhoff is therefore already planning many more events for KIRCHHOFF Culture Life – naturally also for those countries with KIRCHHOFF Automotive locations where no events have taken place yet.