Alfred Merz has mixed feel­ings. The approaching depar­ture from his work­place is not easy for the 62-year-old. Forty-five years in the same company leave their mark – or, as he says himself: “I am an Uhlmann person.”

I am a Uhlmann person.

Alfred Merz, former head of the training work­shop

More Uhlmann connec­tions than those of Alfred Merz are hard to find. His father worked for the company. He himself commenced his appren­tice­ship as a fitter in Laupheim in 1975 – on the same day as an aspiring indus­trial clerk, who was later to become his wife, and has like­wise remained loyal to the company to this day. One of their three sons also joined Uhlmann four years ago.

240 appren­tices in 36 years

He is just one junior employee of many left behind by Alfred Merz. Since taking over respon­si­bility for the training work­shop in April 1984, he has encour­aged, shaped, and guided 240 indus­trial mechanics. The impres­sive record: Not one trainee failed the exam and several have moved on to leading posi­tions in the mean­time. “I have always enjoyed working with young people. It keeps one young. I will miss that”, he says and recalls many special moments with his appren­tices.

One example is the trip to East Germany with 20 trainees in 1987. Or a number of soapbox derbies through the youth orga­ni­za­tion “Stadtju­gen­dring” Laupheim, when the Uhlmann appren­tices left the race circuit as cham­pions. Or playing soccer together – he actively partic­i­pated until three years ago. Or, going back ten years, when his protégés talked him into joining them for some­thing to eat on the last working day before Christmas – and it was suddenly two or three in the morning.

Good rela­tion­ship with young people

“I always found it impor­tant to be able to laugh together. If you are not allowed to laugh, you can stay at home”, says Merz. Although saying farewell to Uhlmann is hard for him, he will also laugh at home and certainly not be bored. Taking care of his young grand­daughter, bike tours, or building a shelter for the robot lawn­mower – Merz has plenty of plans and a clear head to set about doing things. After all, he has no worries about his successor in the company. “Uhlmann has found the right man by appointing Michael Hänn.”

Worthy successor

The 28-year-old took over respon­si­bility for the training work­shop on June 1, 2020. The deci­sion to put the training of indus­trial mechanics, elec­tronic and mecha­tronic engi­neers, tech­nical product designers, and students from the univer­si­ties of applied sciences in the hands of Michael Hänn was made by Helga Haag, Head of HR Devel­op­ment, and Gert Jaudas, Director Human Resources.

Partic­u­larly having expe­ri­enced the qual­i­ties of Alfred Merz, the deci­sion was made with care. Refer­ring to Merz, Haag, his supe­rior since 2015, says: “We saw eye to eye from the start and had faith in each other. An insti­tu­tion goes when Alfred Merz leaves Uhlmann, but Michael Hänn is a smart, spir­ited, and intel­li­gent man capable of contributing new ideas.”

Jaudas under­lines: “The image of training at Uhlmann has been signif­i­cantly shaped by Alfred Merz. Together with his colleagues, he has given this hall­mark a mirror finish day in, day out. Michael Hänn will undoubt­edly continue this success story.”

New ideas for training courses

A dream is coming true for Hänn in his new job. Since his own mecha­tronics appren­tice­ship at Uhlmann, he regu­larly contem­plated becoming a trainer himself and gained the appro­priate tech­nical school certifi­cate. As a start, he took over a group coor­di­na­tion center in Assembly. “A lead­er­ship func­tion has always attracted me because I like working with people and passing on knowl­edge”, says Hänn, and adds with a laugh: “Explaining is not a problem for me, nor are young people.”

Explaining is not a problem for me, nor are young people.

Michael Hänn, new head of the training work­shop

Hänn is now following in Merz’s foot­steps, but is going his own way. He wants to make the training elements more digital in the future and is plan­ning, for instance, to purchase tablets. He also wishes to intro­duce a new project in the basic metal working course.

However, as every­thing is so different this year because of corona –also for the appren­tices – Hänn is glad that his prede­cessor is still actively supporting him. “Alfred Merz has set such an example. He has incred­ible expe­ri­ence and I hope that I will have gained the same amount of know-how one day.”

Perhaps the advice that Alfred Merz gives his “young­sters” when he sends them on their way will be of help: “Be open-minded, take in as much as you can, don’t be afraid, and have the courage to tackle things.”