Mr. Reiter, what does your job as CTO at Uhlmann involve? 

As CTO at Uhlmann Pac-Systeme, I am respon­sible for both product devel­op­ment and the entire order processing chain – from require­ments and project manage­ment to engi­neering, supply chain, quality, and assembly, right through to successful imple­men­ta­tion at the customer’s site. My focus is always on providing an inte­grated solu­tion comprising machinery, soft­ware, and service.

What, in your opinion, makes Uhlmann unique?

For me, Uhlmann is a place where cutting-edge tech­no­log­ical exper­tise and team­work come together. It is a company with exten­sive know-how, and a unique culture. I am impressed by the loyalty and commit­ment our employees demon­strate in their work. They also bring to the table in-depth expertise—and the deter­mi­na­tion to always find a solu­tion for the customer, even when the going gets tough. Every day, I see people here who are passionate about shaping the future.

What do you partic­u­larly like about your job?

I am fasci­nated by how ideas can be trans­lated into successful solu­tions. And I love being able to help shape the entire process: from the initial concept to devel­op­ment and imple­men­ta­tion, right through to successful appli­ca­tion at the customer’s site. For me, the key to success is cross-func­tional collab­o­ra­tion. And, of course, I am inspired by the tech­nology itself: when we boost our inno­va­tion speed using new approaches like, say, AI, it creates scope for what really matters – creative ideas, bold solu­tions, and real bene­fits for the customer.

What is impor­tant to you in your daily work?

It is impor­tant to me that tech­nology not only works – but also has an impact. I value clarity, respon­si­bility, and speed. Our solu­tions should make a differ­ence for our customers—and to achieve this, tech­nology, processes, and people must work together. With NextStep, we create the condi­tions for imple­menting ideas faster and in a more targeted manner. And I believe in owner­ship: when teams know what is impor­tant and have the freedom to take initia­tive, we get excep­tional results.

What issues are you focusing on at present?

At present I am partic­u­larly looking into how we can system­at­i­cally bolster our inno­v­a­tive­ness while also becoming signif­i­cantly faster. Because both of these factors are crucial to safe­guarding our future. Changing markets, spiraling cost pres­sures, and global geopo­lit­ical uncer­tainty are forcing us to re-examine our past recipes for success. Not because they were bad—on the contrary, they made us successful. But they no longer apply to the same extent today and need to be refined. It’s about pooling respon­si­bility, simpli­fying processes, and striking out boldly in new direc­tions.

What, specif­i­cally, do we need to change?

We need to think and act more across divi­sional bound­aries. Until now, we have often worked in silos, which has helped us grow quickly. However, as a global company, collab­o­ra­tion is becoming increas­ingly impor­tant. The inter­ac­tion of indi­vidual areas is crucial if we want to offer our customers the complete solu­tions they expect.

What are the biggest tech­no­log­ical chal­lenges today?

For me, the biggest chal­lenge lies in navi­gating the conflicting aims of finding the ideal tech­nical solu­tion, getting it imple­mented suffi­ciently fast, while also achieving the economic target costs. A solu­tion may be tech­ni­cally bril­liant, but if it takes too long or becomes too expen­sive, it loses its impact. This requires us to set clear prior­i­ties, think in modular terms, and incor­po­rate economic aspects into devel­op­ment at an early stage. This is a cross-depart­mental task that requires us to strive for the best internal compro­mise.

What role does AI play at Uhlmann and how do you see it devel­oping in future?

For us, AI is not an end in itself – it is a tool for achieving impact. Person­ally, I see AI as a cata­lyst for inno­va­tion. It helps us recog­nize complex patterns, support deci­sion-making, and opti­mize processes. But the key point is that AI must be inte­grated into our solu­tions – not as an add-on, but as part of a well-conceived system archi­tec­ture. I believe the future lies in hybrid approaches where humans and machines work together. AI can help all of us be faster – but it must also be trans­parent, safe, and econom­i­cally viable. I am convinced that AI will continue to evolve – not as a substi­tute for people, but as an enabler for better solu­tions.

The exact roadmap is set out in our AI strategy, which we will be presenting later this year. Our power users have been using Copilot for some time now, for example to quickly extract our customers’ core require­ments from hundred-page-long docu­ments and create customized offers. AI is also already helping our service depart­ment to analyze key issues more quickly.

Where do you currently see risks and oppor­tu­ni­ties?

Oppor­tu­ni­ties and risks are two sides of the same coin—the big issue is how we deal with them. Tech­no­log­ical upheavals, volatile markets, and rising expec­ta­tions create pressure—but also enor­mous poten­tial. The main risks, as I see it, lie in being over­whelmed by complexity, slow deci­sion-making processes, and getting bogged down in details. Oppor­tu­ni­ties arise when we set clear prior­i­ties, boldly break new ground, and consis­tently leverage our strengths. Harmo­nizing our tech­nology, orga­ni­za­tion, and culture, will enable us not only to respond – but also to shape the future.

What are your plans for your area of respon­si­bility in the coming years?

My plans are driven by a desire to actively shape change. We are faced with the chal­lenge of devel­oping our orga­ni­za­tion in such a way that it remains a tech­no­log­ical leader, is econom­i­cally successful, and even more customer-focused. This includes inte­grating new tech­nolo­gies such as AI in a mean­ingful way, further stream­lining our processes, and strength­ening cross-func­tional collab­o­ra­tion. My role, as I see it, lies in creating a climate that enables strong teams to develop bold solutions—and imple­ment them quickly and effec­tively.

What has changed in your view since you joined Uhlmann’s manage­ment board four years ago?

We have made signif­i­cant progress. We have success­fully navi­gated the coro­n­avirus crisis, expanded our global pres­ence with the ECO700 in China, and advanced our parenteral strategy tech­no­log­i­cally with the PTC200. In terms of produc­tion, we have been able to measur­ably increase produc­tivity, further cut quality costs, and sustain­ably boost the resilience of our supply chain. Another special mile­stone was the merger of our machine and digital divi­sions – a key contri­bu­tion to shaping our course for the future. All of this was done with the aim of devel­oping our culture in such a way that it not only allows change but actively shapes it. In summary, we can say that we have achieved a great deal together—technologically, orga­ni­za­tion­ally, and cultur­ally.

And finally, a personal ques­tion: What do you do when you’re not sitting behind your desk at Uhlmann?

In my free time I enjoy being outdoors—whether it’s jogging (admit­tedly at a very leisurely pace) on my own, going for a walk with my wife, or, more recently, fishing with my eldest son. I recharge my energy in nature. It helps me find balance and inspires fresh perspec­tives. In my youth, I played elec­tric guitar in a band for many years. I am now trying to pass on my love of music to my three chil­dren. And finally, we really enjoy trav­eling. Last year, we explored France exten­sively. Spending time with my family is espe­cially impor­tant to me—it grounds me and gives me strength to perform my profes­sional duties.