Aged 32, his job is to steer futronic’s developers and designers through future challenges and coordinate their work at the interface to Sales and Project Management.
An out-and-out “glass person”
Benjamin Christ originally trained as an electronics technician for industrial engineering at Verallia, the Bad Wurzach glass manufacturer. He is an ambitious young man who has always been eager to learn more and get ahead. Additional qualifications in automation technology, IT and leadership were consequently high on his agenda. It wasn’t long before he was also charged with optimising production processes. He felt very much at home at Verallia – what you might call an out-and-out “glass person”. But soon his curiosity – his desire to explore new paths and his thirst for even more knowledge – got the better of him. He longed to develop further on a personal level and become adept at leading others. He accepted a job as Project Manager Automation and Drives at a plant and equipment manufacturer in the local region. He found the work highly satisfying but the chemistry just wasn’t right. At his next port of call the opposite was the case – he was totally underchallenged.
Joining futronic was like hitting the jackpot
Benjamin finally arrived at futronic last August to take over as Head of Automation. He admits that it was like hitting the jackpot. After all, process expertise is particularly in demand in his new job – the ability to think laterally across electrical and mechanical engineering, development and design. “It’s a chance to apply my knowledge and my rich experience in my role as an architect”, he comments. Every day, he coordinates and orchestrates activities in a variety of projects at the interface to Sales and Project Management.
Maximal efficieny in processes and projects
Yet it’s at the personal level where his room for manoeuvre is greatest – where he has all the freedom he needs to “develop people”, as he calls it. Benjamin, who also works as a Chamber of Commerce inspector in an honorary capacity, heads two four-strong teams of developers and designers. Amongst other things, it’s up to him to steer these teams through the company’s upcoming organisational changes and prepare them for future challenges. The goal is to ensure that processes and projects are as efficient as possible. He needs “self-managed employees” to achieve this – self-assured, independent, empowered and highly motivated players who are able to harness and shape their own potential. That’s what he’s aiming for. And that’s why he’s precisely the right man for futronic in this position.