There’s More Than One Way to the Top
Stefanie Weber
35, Paper Engineer in Kehl
Sometimes you make a plan, but things turn out differently. You change your mind, or often your goals. That’s when it’s great to have an employer that gives you the space to develop. Three examples show there are very different ways to have a successful career at Koehler.
Mom of Two with a Full-Time Job
When Stefanie Weber walks through the vineyards, she likes listening to music – rock or pop, depending on her mood. Even though she found her dream job and leads a fulfilling life, she needs this time to herself now and again. Ms. Weber’s everyday life as a mom of two and full-time paper engineer leaves her little free time. But she is quite laid-back about it: “As a mother, you have to be highly organized, which helps me in my job.” In the mornings, she takes her children (aged three and one) to daycare, then starts work.
The 35-year-old knew early on that she had a passion for paper, and she had her sights set on a clear career path: “For me, there was only ever Koehler.” This loyalty is partly due to the fact that her father has worked at Koehler in Oberkirch for 30 years and she was particularly interested in science subjects at school.
For me, there was only ever Koehler.
A voluntary internship in paper technology confirmed her decision, and so in 2005 she began an apprenticeship at Koehler – in paper technology again. Then came a degree in mechanical engineering, the thesis for which she wrote at Koehler. She graduated in 2012: “I was determined to go back to Koehler,” says Ms. Weber. Everything went according to plan, and today she works as a paper engineer on paper machine 1 in Kehl. She looks after day-to-day operations and works on continuously optimizing product quality and workflows.
As her day seems to have 35 hours in it, she wants to achieve even more: “My goal is to become a production manager at some point,” she says. She has already completed the management development program at Koehler just in case.
Apprenticeship in paper technology
2005
Mechanical engineering degree
Paper engineer PM 1
Mustafa “Ufuk” Demir
55, Machine Operator in Oberkirch
A Career with Many Stages
There has been a name tag hanging on his bunch of keys for 38 years: Ufuk Demir. “My parents called me Ufuk and that’s what everyone here knows me as, too,” says the 55-year-old, whose real name is Mustafa. He made the tag on his first day. He started out in the electrical workshop as a 16-year-old, and his first job was to engrave signs. He wanted to do an apprenticeship to become an electrician, but things turned out differently.
When I look back, everything has gone well for me.
He was drawn to production, and when an opportunity came up, he moved departments. At 20, he started working as a machine operator on paper machine 3. “The machine is the most varied one at Koehler,” he says, an aspect that he particularly likes. What he enjoys the most is new challenges, for example, when he and his team test new paper on the machine. Mr. Demir switched to other areas, but in the end came back to “his” paper machine 3. He is happy with how his career has taken him through different areas. Even though he never did an apprenticeship, he has always had the opportunity to develop. “When I look back, everything has gone well for me,” says the 55-year-old. His many years of experience are proving an advantage now. He is the longest-serving employee in his department and a kind of mentor for new starters. “That feels a bit weird, but it’s great to see that I can use my experience to support young employees.”
In his free time, Mr. Demir plays billiards and makes music; his passion is percussion. He has had less time for these hobbies over the last three years, though, since he became a grandfather: “Now my grandson is my main hobby and sometimes that’s a full-time job.”
Machine operator PM 3
Lateral entry
1985
Dominik Hoferer
37, Production Manager in Oberkirch
Father of Three and Amateur Soccer Player
When Dominik Hoferer comes home from work, he has a smile on his face – his three children are waiting excitedly for their daddy. “When the door opens and the kids run up to me, it’s a great feeling,” says the 37-year-old. Mr. Hoferer is a production manager at Koehler in Oberkirch and lives close by in Lautenbach. That’s where he started a family, built a house, and plays club soccer every Thursday evening. The family man has achieved everything he wanted in life – but it hasn’t been an easy ride. In 2003, he began his apprenticeship as a paper technologist at Koehler in Oberkirch. After completing it, he took the leap into academic life in far-away Munich, where he studied process engineering with a focus on paper and packaging technology. After graduating, Mr. Hoferer moved away to Switzerland, and two years after that, relocated to Ehingen, Germany.
The quality of the paper is top priority for us.
But personal circumstances brought him back to his home town of Lautenbach in 2016 – and back to Koehler. “To start with, it felt like a step backward,” says Dominik Hoferer. “I had already achieved my goal of working as a production manager. But I soon realized it really wasn’t. It was a new challenge with lots of new types of paper.” After seven years in Oberkirch, an opportunity came up for his dream job of production manager on PM 5. He is responsible for ensuring occupational health and safety, as well as paper quality. “Occupational health and safety is always top priority for us.”
Even though it took a bit longer to get there, it was all worth it: Dominik Hoferer feels he has really arrived in Oberkirch.
2003
Paper technology apprenticeship
→ Degree in process engineering
Process engineer
in Switzerland
Head of Process Technology in Ehingen (Germany)
→ Production manager
Group manager
→ Production manager
