What issues are you focusing on at present?

Our current focus is on automa­tion. Together with my colleagues, I’m redesigning the produc­tion process for the instal­la­tion of the new pallet handling system, which entails various relo­ca­tions and opti­miza­tions. We’re also collab­o­rating with the holding company on the “Factory X” project. To this end, we are imple­menting measuring systems on the machines to make energy consump­tion trans­parent and iden­tify poten­tial savings. At the same time, we are running a project on the use of AI: In the future, the machines should be able to answer queries in the event of a malfunc­tion. This will enable main­te­nance personnel and employees to respond more swiftly.

What oppor­tu­ni­ties and chal­lenges do you see here?

The biggest chal­lenge we face is having to imple­ment the whole thing during ongoing oper­a­tions – it’s like performing open-heart surgery. Day-to-day busi­ness continues while we set up the automa­tion and harmo­nize soft­ware, machines, and systems – while keeping produc­tion down­time as low as possible.

As far as oppor­tu­ni­ties are concerned, in the future we will be less depen­dent on personnel working weekend shifts and will be able to manu­fac­ture 24/7. This will make us more inde­pen­dent and future-proof as a company.

What do you partic­u­larly like about your job and what is impor­tant to you?

I think it’s impor­tant that we are open and honest with each other– and that we can also address crit­ical issues. That works very well in our team. I also like the fact that my work is so varied; you never know in the morning what the day will bring.

What do you value most about your team?

I like the fact that we have a great mix of people, both in terms of age and person­ality. Everyone has their own area of exper­tise, but we can still talk shop and discuss things together. It’s great fun and highly moti­vating.

What issues are you focusing on at present?

Automa­tion is also a big issue for my team and me. We are currently exam­ining which parts we can still transfer to the auto­mated systems. Program­ming entails setting up the NC programs accord­ingly, because we have to ensure that the right parts are fed into the machine and that a fully auto­mated program sequence is guar­an­teed. Another issue is general process opti­miza­tion. In other words, we need to ask ourselves how we can manu­fac­ture our parts even more cost-effec­tively while ensuring higher process reli­a­bility and thus also quality.

What oppor­tu­ni­ties and chal­lenges do you see here?

The chal­lenge lies in the fact that much of this is new, and you first need to famil­iarize your­self with every­thing, run tests, and try out new processes. And, on top of that, all of this is happening along­side our day-to-day busi­ness.

As far as oppor­tu­ni­ties go, it means we can use the soft­ware and systems to enhance our exper­tise and incor­po­rate new tech­nolo­gies into our work. This helps us become better and more effi­cient.

What do you partic­u­larly like about your job and what is impor­tant to you?

I like the variety my job brings. We often have to find solu­tions at short notice, and engaging with the team is some­thing I partic­u­larly enjoy.

Team­work is impor­tant to me, whether it’s with my own staff or colleagues from other depart­ments. When we commu­ni­cate and interact with each other it’s impor­tant we do so in a spirit of mutual respect so that we can collec­tively find the best solu­tion for our company.

What do you value most about your team?

Firstly, there’s the team’s profes­sional exper­tise – everyone knows exactly what they’re doing and how it works. And secondly, we can all rely on each other, espe­cially when there are issues to discuss or prob­lems that need resolving. That makes working together very enjoy­able.

What issues are you focusing on at present?

Our key issues are delivery times and meeting dead­lines in produc­tion – in other words, ensuring that we can get the right parts to the assembly line at the right time. Another issue is inven­tory in produc­tion: we have to keep a constant eye on capacity utiliza­tion so that we can opti­mize throughput times.

What oppor­tu­ni­ties and chal­lenges do you see here?

The biggest change will come from increasing automa­tion. In the future, we will have to plan the sequence – and manage inven­to­ries – differ­ently. Espe­cially when auto­mated systems also run on week­ends, it’s crucial to provide the right parts and plan the work­load accord­ingly. This is a chal­lenge because it changes the way we work and requires us to estab­lish new processes. It also takes time for the team to rethink its approach.

I see this as an oppor­tu­nity for us to grow closer together with the assembly depart­ment. And we learn to under­stand each other’s key issues and develop solu­tions together. This promotes mutual under­standing while also improving our processes as a whole.

What do you partic­u­larly like about your job and what is impor­tant to you?

I like the fact that we are involved in the entire parts manu­fac­turing process: we see how the parts arrive and how they are processed here. This entails working closely with the assembly team.

For me, it’s impor­tant that we are open and honest with each other, and that  you can voice crit­i­cism without fear of nega­tive conse­quences.

What do you value most about your team?

We work well together as a team, and everyone can discuss things openly. This open commu­ni­ca­tion was one of the reasons why I stayed on after my intern­ship semester. Mutual trust among colleagues is high, and you can tell that everyone is working toward the same goal.

What issues are you focusing on at present?

The main issue for me right now is reducing costs; our aim is to become more effi­cient. In the raw mate­rials ware­house, we are currently in the process of stan­dard­izing mate­rials and removing redun­dant stock.
Another major topic is automa­tion: increasing equip­ment utiliza­tion rates are also changing processes in my area, for example, when it comes to the ques­tion of when mate­rials and tools need to be at the machine.

What oppor­tu­ni­ties and chal­lenges do you see here?

Die Heraus­forderung liegt darin, viele neue Themen und Prozesse umzusetzen und dabei die Mitar­bei­t­enden optimal mitzunehmen.
The chal­lenge lies in imple­menting many new topics and processes while opti­mally engaging employees.It’s about promoting under­standing for the changes and the reasons behind them – in other words, why we are changing things and how they fit into the corpo­rate strategy.

I see consid­er­able poten­tial for boosting our effi­ciency and resilience, both in terms of external and internal influ­ences. By system­at­i­cally training our employees, we will remain agile – despite the shortage of skilled workers –  and secure our future.

What do you partic­u­larly like about your job and what is impor­tant to you?

I partic­u­larly like the fact that we are given ample oppor­tu­nity to make our own deci­sions, and I enjoy seeing how the processes we manage lead to sustain­ably posi­tive results.  Working together with my colleagues is very impor­tant to me.

Our goal is to create added value together–not just for our own depart­ments, but for the entire company. Securing visible results and contin­uous improve­ment are just as impor­tant to me as job satis­fac­tion.

What do you value most about your team?

I value our posi­tive, open coop­er­a­tion. We have grown closer as a team through previous changes and know that we can achieve great things together.

What issues are you focusing on at present?

Together with Stefan Kullen, I super­vise some 60 staff working in three shifts.
Our focus is also on increasing produc­tivity and cutting costs. That’s why it’s crucial that we make effi­cient use of the machines and main­tain stable utiliza­tion rates. It’s also impor­tant to deploy and train staff in such a way that every­thing runs smoothly despite down­time or malfunc­tions.

What oppor­tu­ni­ties and chal­lenges do you see here?

A major chal­lenge is getting employees to embrace change and explaining to them why we are taking certain measures. Only those who under­stand the reasons for the measures will really pitch in.

Our advan­tage is that although we now have fewer machines and fewer employees than before, we are much more produc­tive – which shows that our efforts are worth­while.

What do you partic­u­larly like about your job and what is impor­tant to you?

Every day is different, so it’s always exciting. Daily conver­sa­tions with employees, dealing with different person­al­i­ties, and solving prob­lems together make the work varied and fulfilling.

What do you value most about your team?

I think it’s great how well we work together – espe­cially since we’ve grown closer as a result of previous restruc­turing. We comple­ment each other well, commu­ni­cate openly, and make deci­sions inde­pen­dently. That makes our work both rewarding and inspiring.

What issues are you focusing on at present?

I work the oppo­site shift to Thomas Schultheis. Our job is to ensure that theory – i.e., program­ming and plan­ning – trans­lates into prac­tice. Every day, we have to respond to unplanned situ­a­tions, whether it’s absent employees, machine malfunc­tions, or missing mate­rials. That makes the job exciting and constantly chal­lenging for us.

What oppor­tu­ni­ties and chal­lenges do you see here?

The biggest chal­lenge is to make all processes so stable that they continue to work even in the event of a malfunc­tion. The upcoming automa­tion will enable us to take the next step forward and further boost produc­tivity.

What do you partic­u­larly like about your job?

That would be the daily variety. Every day is different – that’s what makes it so appealing. You are constantly inter­acting with your colleagues, solving prob­lems together, and seeing the direct impact of your work.

What do you value most about your team?

We work incred­ibly well together. We consult closely with each other, espe­cially during shift handovers, to ensure that no infor­ma­tion is lost. Open commu­ni­ca­tion is highly impor­tant to us.

What issues are you focusing on at present?

I am currently working on setting up pre-assembly in Plant 5, designing the tool shop, and contin­u­ously opti­mizing format assembly. The objec­tive is to increase the provi­sion of fully assem­bled compo­nents in format assembly so as to reduce throughput time and quickly detect any faults. This requires close coor­di­na­tion with the control station, project manage­ment, and internal and external customers.

What oppor­tu­ni­ties and chal­lenges do you see here?

The biggest chal­lenge lies in the myriad inter­faces involved. It’s impor­tant that we have everyone involved on board and keep track of every­thing. Given all the changes underway at present, it’s vital that we don’t leave our most valu­able asset – our employees – behind. Changes require effec­tive support –this is a central manage­ment task.

Ulti­mately, by making our company more prof­itable and effi­cient, we all stand to benefit. Learning and growing together is a great oppor­tu­nity in this respect.

What do you partic­u­larly like about your job and what is impor­tant to you?

I am involved in the entire value creation process – from indi­vidual parts to the finished format set. No two days are the same; you constantly need to respond flex­ibly, make deci­sions, and find solu­tions together. I partic­u­larly enjoy this diver­sity and working closely with people.

For me, it’s impor­tant that we can talk openly about every­thing – even crit­ical issues. We support each other, provide feed­back, and help each other when someone is facing a diffi­cult situ­a­tion. This trust is the foun­da­tion of our work.

What do you value most about your team?

What I value is our open commu­ni­ca­tion and close coop­er­a­tion. We have a strong manage­ment team where everyone knows what everyone else is doing – we speak with one voice and we all pull together.