Walter Orthmann, a 100-year-old man from Brazil set the Guinness world record for holding down the same job at one company for 84 years and nine days.
Who is Walter Orthmann?
Orthmann may be celebrating his centenary in 2022, but he is not yet ready to down tools and retire. The 100-year-old has been working for a textiles company, Industrias Renaux S.A, for a whopping 84 years.
Orthmann’s family migrated to Brazil, from Germany, in the early 1900s and at the age of 15, he was forced to leave school and take up a post as a shipping assistant at the textiles company.
Orthmann was a very bright lad in school, therefore, his decision to skip class for a pay check was really a means to an end for his family.
“Back in 1938, kids were expected to work to help support the family. As the oldest son of five, my mother took me to find a job at the age of 14,” he recalled.
The young German took the challenges of the day in his stride and welcomed every opportunity to learn, and sure enough, a few years later, Orthmann moved up the ladder, securing a managerial post in the sales department.
The new job allowed Orthmann to travel Brazil, creating lifelong memories with clients who, later in his life, became friends.
“I was given the opportunity to work as a salesperson. I traveled to São Paulo and in less than one week I filled the production with orders equivalent of three month of work,” Orthmann revealed.
After 84 years of hard work and commitment, Orthmann’s attitude towards his job has remained the same. He celebrated his 100th birthday on 19 April 2022, and speaking in an interview with Guinness World Records, Orthmann revealed one of his secrets to longevity: Stay up to date and be adaptable.
“I don’t do much planning, nor care much about tomorrow,. All I care about is that tomorrow will be another day in which I will wake up, get up, exercise and go to work; you need to get busy with the present, not the past or the future. Here and now is what counts. So, let’s go to work!” he said.
Guinness World Records certified Orthmann’s monumental feat in January 2022.
