Can you describe your career path at WAGO?
The Berlin Wall fell while I was at university. At that point, I’d already gotten a commitment from a large microelectronics company in the middle of the Thuringian Forest. But after the fall of the Wall, there was really nothing left in the former East German states – even for my cohort of recent mechanical engineering grads. So, long story short, I found myself in East Westphalia in May 1992 – in Minden, the headquarters of WAGO GmbH & Co. KG. KG. It was a very special time for me that I still look back on fondly. I developed many deep connections, which I treasure, involving my colleagues, the department heads and my supervisors to an equal extent. I also had the opportunity to dive right in on the technical level. One day, when I was subbing, in what back then was the stamping workshop, for someone on vacation, I had to test contacts by the pallet. The 103-231 has been especially dear to my heart ever since.
You’ve been at WAGO for 30 years. What areas are you responsible for?
When I first joined WAGO, I was responsible for finished parts in the Quality Assurance department. When I moved to the Sondershausen site in 2000, this job description carried over almost exactly. Today I’m responsible for an interdepartmental employee training concept, as well as for the design and acceptance of integrated test stations in new assembly systems.
What do you like most about your work?
I’ve often seen how appreciative the employees who work right on the machines are when they’re consulted in connection with a customer complaint and learn about how end customers use our products or what aspects of the terminal blocks can be difficult. Machine operators have experience no one else has. Incorporating this experience both demonstrates an appreciation for it and also serves as an important source of support for fixing problems in a practical, effective way when they occur.
When people understand the background behind what they’re doing, they can act deliberately, attentively and with passion. That’s the basis of the training concept: Our WAGO team is like a colorful bouquet of flowers made up of different professions and age groups. For me, it’s an exciting challenge to make technical connections tangible and present the essentials in a comprehensible way. If, at the end of a training session, the participants look surprised and ask “Are we done already?” – then we’ve done something right.
What makes WAGO special in your opinion?
We’re not just a terminal block manufacturer. The WAGO brand is reflected in installers’ enthusiasm for it.
If you had to describe WAGO in three words, what would they be?
Stable – proactive – with its own profile!
Can you describe your personal WAGO moment of success?
When the training concept was about to start, I had serious stage fright. I’d never given an illustrated lecture about our company history, products and quality standards like that – with participant involvement the whole time too. The feedback from the first training sessions clearly encouraged us to maintain and expand this type of knowledge transfer. Due to COVID, the third training topic, “Junction Box Connectors,” was implemented in the form of a video, with “Galileo” as a kind of mentor. We wanted to show that electrical engineering can also be entertaining, not always dead serious. We got positive, honest feedback on this one too from many directions. The second part is still to come. I believe the success of a training concept lies in two simple things: respect for people and respect for their work.
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