Business Englisch lernen › Münster Business English › Unit 5

🏭Unit 5 of 10 · Level B1–B2

Visiting a Family Company

A Company Tour in the Münsterland

Besuch bei einem Familienunternehmen im Münsterland

🎯 Practise 16 words and phrases for a company visit – presenting a company's history, products, values and plans.16 Wörter und Wendungen für eine Firmenbesichtigung – Geschichte, Produkte, Werte und Pläne eines Unternehmens vorstellen. Niveau B1–B2.

📖 16 words✏️ 25 questions💬 Dialogue🗣️ Speaking task

📍 The story Die Geschichte

On day two, Anna drives Tom into the countryside. They visit Wessels Maschinenbau, a fictional family company that makes the steel frames for the WorkWell chair.

The owner, Jan Wessels, is the third generation to run the company. His grandfather founded it in a barn in 1952. Today it exports to 40 countries.

Tom has many questions – and Jan proudly shows them around.

👩‍💼 Anna Becker – project manager, Münster🧑‍💼 Tom Walsh – client from Manchester, visiting Münster

📖 Learn first Erst lernen, dann üben

to foundgründen

My grandfather founded the company in 1952.

founderGründer

The founder started with three employees.

generationGeneration

I'm the third generation to run the company.

to run a companyein Unternehmen führen

Jan has run the company since 2010.

to take overübernehmen

He took over from his father.

traditionTradition

We combine tradition and innovation.

innovationInnovation

Innovation is the key to our success.

valuesWerte

Our values are quality and reliability.

reliablezuverlässig

Our customers know we are reliable.

workforceBelegschaft

Our workforce has grown to 250 people.

apprenticeAuszubildender

We train 20 apprentices every year.

apprenticeshipAusbildung

An apprenticeship takes three years.

long-termlangfristig

We think long-term, not in quarters.

to expandexpandieren, erweitern

We plan to expand into Asia.

market leaderMarktführer

We are the market leader in Europe.

premisesFirmengelände

Let me show you around our premises.

⚠️ Typical mistakes Typische Fehler

❌ My grandfather grounded the company.
✅ My grandfather founded the company.
„Gründen“ = found (founded, founded). Ground heißt erden – oder Hausarrest geben!
❌ We have 250 collaborators.
✅ We have 250 employees / staff.
Collaborator bedeutet oft „Kollaborateur“. Mitarbeiter = employees, staff.
❌ We train 20 Azubis / trainees.
✅ We train 20 apprentices.
Azubi im dualen System = apprentice. Das deutsche System kurz erklären!
Score: 0 / 25

Part A · Words – die wichtigsten Wörter

1My grandfather ______ the company in 1952.

Mein Großvater hat das Unternehmen 1952 gegründet.

Found – founded – founded = gründen.

2The ______ started with three employees in a barn.

Der Gründer fing mit drei Mitarbeitern in einer Scheune an.

Founder = Gründer.

3I'm the third ______ to run the company.

Ich bin die dritte Generation, die das Unternehmen führt.

Generation.

4Jan has ______ the company since 2010.

Jan führt das Unternehmen seit 2010.

Present Perfect mit since: has run.

5He took ______ from his father in 2010.

Er hat 2010 von seinem Vater übernommen.

Take over = übernehmen.

6We combine tradition ______ innovation.

Wir verbinden Tradition und Innovation.

Combine A and B (oder A with B) = A und B verbinden.

7______ is the key to our success.

Innovation ist der Schlüssel zu unserem Erfolg.

Innovation = Neuerung. Invention = Erfindung.

8Our ______ are quality and reliability.

Unsere Werte sind Qualität und Zuverlässigkeit.

Values = Werte.

9Our customers know we are ______.

Unsere Kunden wissen, dass wir zuverlässig sind.

Reliable = zuverlässig.

10Our ______ has grown to 250 people.

Unsere Belegschaft ist auf 250 Menschen gewachsen.

Workforce.

11We train 20 ______ every year.

Wir bilden jedes Jahr 20 Azubis aus.

Azubi = apprentice.

12An ______ takes three years.

Eine Ausbildung dauert drei Jahre.

Apprenticeship = duale Ausbildung.

Part B · In context – Wendungen und Situationen

13We think ______, not in quarters.

Wir denken langfristig, nicht in Quartalen.

Long-term = auf lange Sicht.

14We plan to ______ into Asia.

Wir planen, nach Asien zu expandieren.

Expand into = expandieren nach.

15We are the market ______ in Europe for steel frames.

Wir sind in Europa Marktführer für Stahlgestelle.

Market leader.

16Let me show you around our ______.

Lassen Sie mich Ihnen unser Firmengelände zeigen.

Premises = Firmengelände (immer Mehrzahl).

17We have about 250 ______.

Wir haben etwa 250 Mitarbeitende.

Mitarbeiter = employees oder staff.

18Our products are sold ______ 40 countries.

Unsere Produkte werden in 40 Länder verkauft.

Sold in 40 countries.

19How did the company ______?

Wie hat das Unternehmen angefangen?

How did it start? – gute Einstiegsfrage beim Firmenbesuch.

20What makes your company ______?

Was macht Ihr Unternehmen besonders?

What makes you special?

21Most of our staff come ______ the local area.

Die meisten unserer Mitarbeitenden kommen aus der Region.

Come from.

22Family companies often ______ more about their employees.

Familienunternehmen kümmern sich oft mehr um ihre Mitarbeitenden.

Care about = sich kümmern um, Wert legen auf.

23Thank you for ______ time to show us around.

Danke, dass Sie sich die Zeit nehmen, uns herumzuführen.

Take the time to …

24I'm very ______ by your factory.

Ich bin sehr beeindruckt von Ihrer Fabrik.

Person: impressed. Sache: impressive.

25The factory is very ______.

Die Fabrik ist sehr beeindruckend.

Die Sache ist impressive, die Person impressed.

Well done! · Gut gemacht!You scored 0 out of 25.Sie haben 0 von 25 Fragen richtig beantwortet. Wiederholen Sie die Unit in ein paar Tagen!

💬 Dialogue Lesen Sie den Dialog laut – am besten mit einem Partner.

JanWelcome to Wessels Maschinenbau! I'm Jan Wessels. Let me show you around our premises.
TomThank you for taking the time. How did the company start?
JanMy grandfather founded it in 1952 – in a barn with three employees. I'm the third generation to run the company. I took over from my father in 2010.
TomAnd today?
JanWe have about 250 employees and we export to 40 countries. We're the market leader in Europe for steel frames.
AnnaJan's company makes the frames for the WorkWell chair.
TomWhat makes your company special?
JanWe combine tradition and innovation. And we think long-term, not in quarters. We also train 20 apprentices every year.
TomApprentices – that's the German dual system, isn't it?
JanExactly. Three years, part school, part company. Many of them stay with us for life. I'm sure you're impressed by our machines – come and see!

🗣️ Your turn Jetzt sind Sie dran

Present a company you know (your employer, a family business, a famous company) in two minutes.

  • When and by whom was it founded? (It was founded in … by …)
  • What are its products, values and plans?
  • Your partner is the visitor and asks three questions (How did the company start? What makes it special?).

📘 Go further – mehr zum Thema: Small Talk beim Firmenbesuch

← Previous · Unit 4Getting Around
Learn. Practise. Repeat.
Persönliches Business-Englisch-Training mit Kenneth Gill: Training & Coaching · Mehr Wortschatz-Quizze auf english-quiz.de · Grammatik auf englisch-grammatik.com

Hartmann & Hale, all companies and characters are fictional; places and facts about Münster are real. · Firmen und Personen sind frei erfunden, Orte und Fakten zu Münster sind echt.

🧭 Neu im Kurs? Die Geschichte von Anna und Tom beginnt im Business English Course.