My workplace at SWISS KRONO

Christian Poloczek – Key Account Manager for OSB Export

After spending several years in Santiago which is a metropolis of over a million inhabitants, I am happy to live as a father of two in such a natural and green area like Neuruppin. With SWISS KRONO in Heiligengrabe, I have found an employer with prospects. Even though I come from a completely different professional field and was self-employed recently, as someone who wanted to seek a career change, I found a job at an international industrial company like SWISS KRONO, which I really enjoy. I feel that I can develop freely here, not only professionally, but also personally, and I like the incredibly diverse product range of our company.

As a Key Account Manager for OSB in the Export department, I look after our most important customers in Germany and abroad. I represent the company and the products in which I believe and with which, I can identify myself. I travel to Austria, Russia, the Middle East, Australia and Japan and am pleased to be able to sell our sought-after products with the “Made in Germany” quality mark to our customers there. Key account management at SWISS KRONO doesn’t just mean being contact persons to our customers, it most importantly means team effort.

Since I have an open-minded and communicative nature, I really like that I get to work in a team, and come into contact with many different people and learn about different cultures worldwide. Even though I have joined the company just recently, I can say that I have arrived and I am looking forward to an exciting future together with SWISS KRONO.

(September 2016)

Sandra Meyer – Project manager in process optimization administration in accounting

When pursuing my business studies degree with specialization in accounting and financial control at the FH für Wirtschaft Berlin, in 2004, I started as an intern in the accounting department of SWISS KRONO. In 2005, I wrote my diploma thesis in the company. After successfully completing my course of studies, I was assistant to the management for four years before I took a maternity leave for one year in 2009.

I was clear to me that I had to return to the company after the maternity leave. I now work as a project manager in the process optimization administration in the accounting department since 2010. My tasks could barely be any barely different as a project manager for process optimization - I am responsible for smooth communication between accounting and all other departments. Process optimization is all about ensuring that certain steps simply work faster and better, save time and money, and work processes can be digitalized and automated. I deal with, for example, the IT department, human resources or, for example, annual financial statements in which production, inventories and sales must be accurately recorded and documented. In short, this is not just about numbers, but about the most versatile tasks that process optimization entails.

I value SWISS KRONO TEX GmbH & Co. KG as an employer, because over so many years I spent in the company, I was repeatedly shown prospects for personal development within the company. In 2013, I took another maternity leave for 1 year for our second child and today I am back in my old position as a project manager. Balancing family life and work life with two children is not always easy if both the parents are working. That is why I appreciate the flexible organization of working time at SWISS KRONO very much; that way, there are almost no problems when planning and organizing our everyday family life. I definitely feel a regional connection here because I was born and grew up in Kyritz. The grandparents of our children also live here in the region and are of course also available for family support.

I am therefore all the more pleased to have found an employer with prospects here. Another thing I appreciate very much about SWISS KRONO is the cooperation in a stable circle of colleagues. This not only strengthens the team spirit, but in my opinion, the many years of employment of the employees also speaks in favor of SWISS KRONO TEX GmbH & Co. KG as an employer.

(September 2016)

Thomas Böhm – Quality assurance - Flooring

I am happy to be employed at SWISS KRONO in Heiligengrabe because I was born and grew up in Wittstock. At an internationally active company like SWISS KRONO, which exports its products to more than 90 countries, I have the opportunity to apply the experience I gained in my learned profession as master craftsman for wood technology in the field of quality assurance.

My work in the quality assurance department is to carry out random quality assurance checks according to EN 13329 during ongoing production in the area of short-cycle press and flooring. The products must meet our high quality standards and the systems must carry out productions according to the prescribed DIN standards. State-of-the-art optical and electronic resources are used to monitor quality. This ensures a consistently stable quality of our products. For example, compliance with the specified sheeted areas in length and width, the profile and surface are examined and checked in the most careful way. This is how our products meet the high quality standards of the SWISS KRONO GROUP. After all, every product must be perfect before it is packed and leaves the factory.

The tasks in the area of quality assurance are very demanding and multi-faceted, and that is exactly what I like about my job that comes with the responsibility that only the best products must reach the end customer. Apart from that, I also like the good working atmosphere at SWISS KRONO and the fact that, as a member of the quality assurance staff, I come into contact with many other colleagues across all departments. Furthermore, I like the constantly expanding variety of products, since it means that new things are always being added and my job always remains interesting.

(September 2016)

Florian Lück – Industrial management assistant in Marketing

I come from Wittstock and many people from my family work at SWISS KRONO. Then one thing led to another. During my vocational secondary school diploma, I did an internship at SWISS KRONO and applied for an apprenticeship as an industrial management assistant. I got the apprenticeship position because of my performance during the internship. When I started the training, I did not know exactly what my main focus would be. Since you get to work in all areas here, such as purchasing, sales, accounting, marketing, you get to know many different areas of operations. Then I gradually realized that I am particularly interested in marketing.

I really enjoyed the tasks and activities here. The chemistry between the colleagues clicked immediately and when I was offered a job shortly before the end of my training, I was immediately on board. Today, I am happy to have landed in marketing, since it is an incredibly versatile job. Every day is different. Sometimes I’m on the road at trade fairs, at the pattern maker’s, at the joinery for the displays or at events like the B2Run company run that I’m planning for the SWISS KRONO team. This variation is also what attracts me in this profession. In the near future, we may also go to trade fairs abroad, such as Las Vegas or Shanghai, where we will present our products.

If you would like to work in a larger company and stay here in the region, there is not so much choice. But for most colleagues, that is not the decisive reason. I, for example, have always been fascinated by the raw material of wood and its processing. The size of the company also plays a big role, of course, because you have much better promotion prospects. And I quickly realized that I wanted to stay in the region. I know many people who have gone to big cities like Berlin or Hamburg and are surprised that I stayed here. But the woman by my side is here, my family and friends live in the immediate vicinity, I enjoy my work, I am happy here - why should I leave? Few people understand this, but I feel very comfortable here.

SWISS KRONO also gives me the opportunity to study on the side and supports me financially regarding tuition fees, travel expenses and textbooks. However, I had to gain four years of professional experience before that and prove my suitability with good performance in everyday work. Next year, I will graduate in Business Administration. And if all goes well, I’ll even aim for my Bachelor’s degree.

(September 2016)

Florian Voelz – Apprentice as an electronics technician for industrial engineering

I want to be an employee of the company after my training. If I am good at my work, all doors will be open to me here. I can also picture myself studying further. My training company makes this possible for me.

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Hagen von Webel – Controller at SWISS KRONO

After more than ten years in Rhineland-Palatinate, my partner and I decided to return home. The job prospects for business administrators had improved significantly in the state of Brandenburg. At the same time, we wanted our child to grow up close to the grandparents. I of course knew the region between Berlin and Müritz from my childhood and therefore submitted an application for a job posting at SWISS KRONO.

My work as a controller offers me creative freedom, and I like that. I have returned home and I can see very good prospects for our entire family here. We live in a very beautiful region which has a lot to offer in terms of recreational and cultural activities and I can be in Berlin or at the Baltic Sea within an hour. The people in the region are open-minded and helpful. I sensed that immediately with my new colleagues. They included me right away.

(February 2015)

Jennifer Lorenz – Apprentice as an industrial management assistant

I like the versatility for my work, which results from the size of the company. I get to work in all areas from purchasing to sales and have very good training support. My training is also giving me a secure prospect.

To the complete interview