NEWS

At KURT MEDER GmbH, young engineer Daniel Reiser is enjoying travels that will take him from the Black Forest to Bucharest and onwards to Mexico. As part of a program designed to promote the next generation of managers, he will spend six months contributing his expertise and helping to optimize processes, first in Romania and then in Mexico.

At Schwenningen's KURT MEDER GmbH, trainees and employees are given the opportunity to gain experience with partner companies abroad. An excellent example of this is Daniel Reiser: after finishing his apprenticeship as a precision machinist, he went on to complete a course of dual studies in mechanical engineering, focusing in particular on design and development. Immediately afterwards, he joined the KURT MEDER GmbH junior management program for young engineers, specializing in the wire sector.

With its large export share, spring specialist MEDER already has a worldwide presence, a presence consolidated by its affiliation to the Kern-Liebers group of companies, whose branches extend across the entire globe. This network is now taking Daniel Reiser to Romania. "Given the number of different companies in the group, it is particularly important for us to continuously develop our communication with each other in order to secure an advantage in our highly competitive market, and we are therefore always happy to send our employees to work with partner companies," explains MEDER Managing Director Magnus Mauch.

The Romanian plant within the Kern-Liebers group, where Daniel Reiser will work for six months, is about ten kilometers from Bucharest, and has been manufacturing parts for the textile industry since the early 1970s. In 2015, a new division was added: the wire spring unit. With around 120 employees, the company is still expanding and working to establish itself on the market. And this is where the expertise of Daniel Reiser from Germany comes in.

But before heading off to Romania, there were a number of other items on the agenda for the young engineer in Germany. "This program is designed to give up-and-coming young people the opportunity to develop their skills and gain the qualifications for higher roles with greater responsibilities within the company," explains Mauch. Reiser worked though the various departments within KURT MEDER GmbH, also taking on three six-month assignments at sister companies Bohnert GmbH and Schweizer GmbH, as well the parent company itself at the Kern-Liebers Wire division (W). "The goal of this program is to internalize processes and transfer know-how," adds Mauch.

Having become thoroughly familiar with group headquarters in the Black Forest, it was time to move on to the plant in Romania, where his role is to pass on his expertise, integrate and optimize processes and promote communication with the German locations. Schwenningen-born Reiser acts not only as an important interface between group headquarters in Germany and its subsidiary in Romania, but also as part of the team responsible for the relocation of products and machines to Romania.

After a few months in Romania, the young engineer has come to his initial conclusions and is enjoying the opportunity to continue his development at a company abroad: "My stay here has already enhanced my professional, personal and social skills. The program is clearly ensuring improved networking of the locations", says Daniel Reiser in summary.

After Romania, on to Mexico: hardly back from Romania, the next challenge awaits Daniel Reiser. After his return in the autumn, he will travel on to Kern-Liebers Mexico, where he will work on day-to-day operations and contribute to a project for six months.