Always Searching for New Challenges | Mathias Düwel
Mathias Düwel, Head of Operational Technical Customer Service, could not imagine his job without variety and challenges.
But is that possible when you have worked in the same company for 33 years? “Of course!”, Mathias is certain. “It depends on what you make of it. I appreciate WEINMANN Emergency as an employer, which is why I wanted to experience my career changes here in the company. “A glance at his résumé shows: he never got bored!
From production employee to manager
In 1989, Mathias needed to reorientate himself. He had completed his military service and needed a new job. Technically skilled, a technical understanding, a team player – while browsing through the job advertisements, he looked out for jobs that are meaningful and fit to him as a person. When he then found the position as a production employee at WEINMANN Emergency, he immediately had a good feeling. And this feeling was no mistake: On April 1, 1989, Mathias had his first day of work. As a production employee, he was able to learn a lot about the assembly of the ventilators and particularly pressure reducers. This knowledge also helped him five years later, when he switched to the job as a service employee. At this time, the Service department was in a state of upheaval: The demands of the customers grew, due to which new concepts needed to be developed. A crucial issue was: How can we minimize the device downtimes and reduce administrative effort at the same time? The solution: With a service that helps the customers directly on site.
Pioneer in Mobile Service
And this solution is still the highlight of Mathias’ career today, 20 years later. It all started with a two-man team. Now, there are 12 service vehicles that are looking after more than 1,000 satisfied customers nationwide. “At that time, the special thing was that we were a forerunner in the medical technology sector with the mobile service. No one had come up with the idea of offering a professional manufacturer service on site before”, remembers Mathias. But, before the first service vehicle could start, the “to do” list needed to be processed. “First of all, we needed to work out the entire concept, find test regions and inspect the vehicle properties.” But on January 1, 2002, the wait was finally over and Mathias was able to make the first customer visit. While he was solely responsible for the mobile service with his colleague, Carsten Thiemann, in the first year, more and more employees followed in the subsequent years. “It was going so well that at some point, we decided to offer a one-year vocational training program as a service technician”. A new challenge again, which Mathias was pleased to take on. In 2007, the team was then so large that a Team Leader was searched for. Mathias’ knowledge from the Production and Service departments was the perfect prerequisite for this job. “From this point in time, I needed to look after the strategic part and was responsible for the route planning of the service vehicles, among other things. Furthermore, I looked after the national and international service partners and held training courses.”
More customer satisfaction through teamwork
For satisfied customers, the service needs to be of a high quality. But the cooperation in the Service Team plays an important role in this, says Mathias: “Satisfied employees also radiate this attitude outwards, which, in turn, makes itself noticeable in customer contact.” Since 2012, Mathias has been heading up the biggest team at WEIMANN Emergency with 29 employees currently in Technical Customer Service. “The working atmosphere is great: regardless of whether it is office-based sales, field sales, technicians – everyone enjoys working well together. But this is also reflected generally in the entire company. The short decision-making channels and working on an equal footing are simply fun.”
Five quick cacts about Mathias
- In my job, you particularly need to be communicative, empathetic, determined, flexible, proactive and relaxed.
- My daily working life is characterized by internal and external inquiries, projects, human resources management tasks, constant changes and ever new challenges.
- My colleagues say that I am very conscientious, structured, reliable, economical, open to criticism, determined, controlling and on the search for improvements. He recognizes the strengths, weaknesses and nearly all tasks and activities of his employees.
- For me, WEINMANN Emergency is the right employer, with whom I have been able to exercise and perform many different positions and tasks over the years.
- On the weekend, I am often on the move, spending my free time with sports activities, with the family and I very much enjoy spending time at the water. This where I get strength and relaxation.
