Age
29
With BODE since
2020
Current position
Plant manager
My name is Patrick. I am 29 years old and have a daughter. BODE gave me the opportunity to take on a lot of responsibility in my younger years. I currently manage a plant with over 300 employees. I joined BODE four years ago via the traditional application route (on line, of course).
As far as my career is concerned, I’ve always been fast. I completed my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees as dual studies in the area of mechanical engineering, gained some experience in production, and finally started at Bode. After joining BODE, the pace continued. After only a short time, I was responsible for a section of production. Since 2023, I have been responsible for the entire plant.
BODE impressed me with its flat hierarchies and quick decision-making. This was not an empty promise: I was spontaneously accepted during the interview. But it got even better. From day one, I was given an extremely high level of trust and was allowed to act and shape things independently. That has remained the case to this day. And that is what makes working at BODE so satisfying and exciting for me.
My day is well structured. In the mornings, the focus is more on operational issues. After all, production has to run smoothly. This includes our daily divisional meetings about the results and problems of the previous or current day.
In the afternoon, things calm down in production itself, and my tasks have a more strategic nature. That means we sit together in project teams and develop new production lines, and have meetings with machine and system manufacturers. Of course, there are usually a few boring administrative tasks.
No matter how busy my schedule is, I always have an open ear. I often come to my colleagues and we talk – sometimes not about work.
The diversity of the tasks and topics we work on and my team.
When I talk about my team, I see myself less as a leader and more as an equal member. Everyone has their own tasks that they do. And together we work on becoming even better. We stand up for each other as a team and cheer each other up in difficult situations. If someone is stuck, we look for solutions together and we have a healthy competitive spirit among ourselves.
I am a living example of how BODE continues to provide its employees with opportunities for professional development. I started as a project manager and my potential was recognized quite early on. We then drew up an individual development plan to strengthen my leadership skills. I was gradually given more responsibility. I am now one of the youngest plant managers at BODE and enjoy the full support of my colleagues.