National final in Schleswig-Holstein
At the national finals of the Playbizz simulation game at the end of June in Tannenfelde (Schleswig-Holstein), four trainees from Augsburg-based Hosokawa Alpine AG left the competition behind and took first place. Noah Hoogeland, Jonas Meitinger, Lukas Habermeier and Yasin Ciftci demonstrated entrepreneurial thinking and action and came out on top in the final round out of a total of five teams.
Learning business contexts through play
The business simulation game playbizz, which is offered annually by the Bildungswerk der Bayerischen Wirtschaft (bbw) in cooperation with avicento AG, is a business simulation that models operational planning and decision-making processes. The business simulation offers trainees the opportunity to manage a fictitious company and make decisions in the functional areas of purchasing, production, sales, finance and human resources. In this way, the participants learn about business contexts in a fun way. A total of 148 teams across Germany took part in the business game in 2024/2025.
Hosokawa Alpine had an interdisciplinary team made up of trainees Noah Hoogeland (warehouse logistics specialist), Jonas Meitinger (technical product designer), Lukas Habermeier (industrial clerk) and Yasin Ciftci (industrial mechanic). The final round involved the production and marketing of a pedelec in the form of a sporty city bike. ‘Achieving first place in the business game was a great moment - especially because we grew together as a team and everyone was able to contribute their strengths,’ the trainees said unanimously.
A strong sign of the quality of training
Hosokawa Alpine is naturally delighted with this success, as it is a wonderful sign of the quality and importance of training at the mechanical engineering company, which specialises in powder and particle processing systems and blown film production lines. Around 55 young people are currently completing an apprenticeship or dual study programme at Hosokawa Alpine. The majority of them remain loyal to the company after graduation: "We support our trainees beyond their training - with real prospects. We are therefore all the more delighted to take first place for the first time. For us, training is a matter for the boss. Our trainees show how areas interlock and strengthen each other - a principle that we also want to live out in the larger corporate context," says Jürgen Wilde, member of the Executive Board at Hosokawa Alpine. The four trainees themselves were also delighted to receive prize money of 500 euros. As a little extra, there was also a taster round of golf on the neighbouring golf course in Tannenfelde.
