When companies describe themselves as family-owned, they usually mean they are run by the owning family—just like Josef Göbel. However, for Josef Göbel, this connection goes even deeper.

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Two years ago, Michael Rieger built a house in Passail, which means he no longer gets to enjoy the Rieger family carpool. His father, Franz, and brother, Christoph, still commute the nearly seven kilometers every morning—together, for now. Christoph Rieger has just successfully passed his carpentry technician apprenticeship exam. Interestingly, his path to the apprenticeship was not entirely voluntary at first. He had already been offered an apprenticeship at a surveying office, but when that fell through, he decided to pursue carpentry. As he puts it: “Absolutely the right decision.”

The story of his father, Franz, began in a similar way. In the early 1980s, it was quite difficult to find an apprenticeship. His own father, Christoph’s grandfather, had been working at Josef Göbel since the mid-60s, so Franz eventually secured an apprenticeship there. That was in 1983. After completing his apprenticeship and spending some time in furniture construction, he, like his father, worked in window making —now, over 40 years later, he manages it. Christoph will likely follow in his father’s footsteps after his apprenticeship. “It has to continue,” Christoph jokes about the family legacy.

Christoph’s older brother, Michael, is the black sheep of the family when it comes to windows. He has a passion for furniture instead. In the workshop, he is deputy team leader and has been with the company for over 10 years, ever since his apprenticeship. “It is very varied in the workshop here. I like it because there is always something new. Every order is basically a one-off. These are things you can’t just buy in a furniture store or quickly find somewhere else.” He even made the furniture for his own house.

Unlike many other families, the Riegers do not talk much about work at home. They say it is not necessary because they pick up on the important things anyway. But even though they do not discuss it often, the Riegers take great pride in their family tradition. “When you produce something, at the end of the day, you can say—‘I made this. I can be proud of it.’” Michael Rieger says. And there is nothing more to add to that.