“Being able to familiarize myself with production at our international plants proved extremely informative and is still of immeasurable value to me today.”
Growing up in an artisan family bakery, I’ve always been interested in the processes involved in the manufacture of food. I still find the commercial application of these processes on an industrial scale particularly fascinating. This is precisely why I decided to study food technology and biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), later gaining my PhD from what’s now the Chair of Food and Bioprocess Engineering at the TUM.
There’s an easy answer to this. Food and beverage technology has an interdisciplinary character, meaning it combines natural sciences with other disciplines such as mechanical engineering, logistics, economics and production and human resources management. It was best for me to opt for a degree course like this where I could learn a number of the different ‘languages’ typically used in day-to-day business.
Armed with this wealth of theoretical and scientific expertise, once I’d finished my PhD I then wanted to apply this knowledge in practice. I subsequently found out about the Engineer4Future trainee program at KHS, seized the opportunity and applied – successfully so!
In the 21 months of the program, I spent time in and at various departments and production sites and got to know lots of colleagues all over the world.
In the course of my activities, I was able to support development teams as an expert for process engineering, dairy technology and food chemistry and through this of course gain my first experience working in an international environment. The three months at our factory in Brazil and a month spent supporting a customer project in Argentina made a particularly lasting impression on me. During this time I was able to assist in various areas of the project, such as the ingress of the machinery and aspects of installation and commissioning of a turnkey KHS filling line. Being able to familiarize myself with production at our international plants and the exchange between our headquarters, subsidiaries outside Germany and installation sites proved extremely informative and is still of immeasurable value to me today.
In addition to all the practical experience we gained, we trainees were guided through the program by a broad range of seminars and courses to also personally prepare us as much as possible for our future target positions.
At the end of the trainee program I first spent six months working as a process engineer at the Process Engineering Product Center. Thanks to the valuable insights I’d gained into the ways our international teams cooperated with one another, I was able to help optimize processes in Project Processing and work on product standardization processes together with our Global Engineering Department which promotes networking at a design engineering and production level. During this phase I realized that I wanted to contribute to the success of the company in a managerial position together with a strong team.
In 2017 I thus became head of the Process Engineering and Beverage Technology Department at the Filling Technology Product Center which operates laboratories and test centers at our KHS sites in Bad Kreuznach and Dortmund, among other facilities. In addition to my managerial duties, I was also very involved in further developing our range of services and readying them for market in conjunction with our colleagues in Sales and Service. It was always very helpful to have an ear to the ground here regarding current market trends and developments, plus a functioning network comprising customers, suppliers, trade associations and universities.
After spending three extremely valuable years in this department, I then accepted a new exciting challenge: as head of the Process Engineering Product Center that deals with beverage production and treatment. Shortly afterwards, I had the chance to expand my area of responsibility to replace a colleague entering retirement and head the Filling Technology Product Center. This department develops and engineers machines that fill beverages into various different containers. During this transition, the transfer of knowledge between my predecessor and I was facilitated by the TransferWerk method which proved to be an extremely helpful tool when taking on this new area of responsibility.
I assumed my current post with a clear goal: I wish to strengthen and prepare my department for the increasing level of complexity caused by constantly growing markets and rapidly changing demands by driving product development so that we can meet customer requirements flexibly and efficiently.
Continuously further developing my skills is extremely important to me. That’s why I really appreciate KHS providing me with this opportunity – and even requiring it of me. In this respect, following my trainee program I was thus able to then successfully complete KHS’ own Fit4Leadership management development program. I was later also able to take part in various intercompany further training programs for management development that specifically encourage the exchange of information within the Group.
This shows just how large KHS’ repertoire of further educational measures is: here, great value is attached to personnel development, allowing me to feel that I’m also always supported in my role as an executive manager and can further professionalize my expertise.
“I try to consciously encourage flat hierarchies so that each and every individual can creatively contribute to the team for the good of the company.”
The diversity and creative scope are what make my job very exciting. This is where my interdisciplinary training pays off, especially where a number of different company departments are involved.
In my team I try to consciously encourage flat hierarchies by defining joint fields of action together with my colleagues, so that each and every individual can creatively contribute for the good of the company in this context. As lots of people are involved in the process right from the start, issues can be dealt with more quickly and efficiently. If this works, the whole team, KHS and above all our customers are the winners.
When I was little, I wanted to be a captain on a sail ship. I’ve since realized this dream on a more modest scale by crossing the Atlantic on a sailing yacht. This was a formative experience, especially regarding the dynamics of the crew who at first were total strangers. As soon as a workable sense of trust has been built up, however, it’s amazing what a team is suddenly capable of. We mastered storms in extremely borderline situations, for example, without much needing to be said.
I now enjoy spending my free hours with my child and, if time allows, I like to be out cycling or hiking in the great outdoors or singing in our local male-voice choir.
More experience reports
Constantin Siemons
Head of Global Engineering and Production | Department: Global Engineering and Production | Dortmund
Alexander Witt
Product support engineer and part-time student of electrical engineering | Department: Bottle Washer and Pasteurizer Product Center | Dortmund, Germany
Paul Wundu
Electrical engineer | Department: Development | Kleve, Germany
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“We always try to find the distinctive characteristics of each specific client - this makes KHS unique!”
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“I love my work at KHS, the products and the challenges these bring. We’re like a family and I’m very happy about that.”
“The fascinating products and the opportunity to work with colleagues coming from all over the world are the reasons why I chose KHS in the first place.”
“It’s a great feeling to have solved a complex technical problem – every single time.”
“Time and again I realize just how important personal contact is for the results of our work.”
“Learning a technical occupation at KHS is useful for all those who wish to work on an international level.”
“As an electrical engineer you solve both technical and economic problems. That’s what I love doing!”
