automotive filtration insight
1 Team. 1,000 Stories.
In this edition, we talk to three young talents who have recently joined
Freudenberg
For any company today, finding, recruiting and retaining top talents is an absolute priority. After all, it is these highly qualified and motivated young people who will become the technology experts and business leaders of tomorrow. Their expertise will be the key to maintaining long-term competitive advantage.
Demographic trends over the last two decades have created an employment market that favors top candidates. The business environment enables young talents today to have a virtually free choice about where to work. So why choose Freudenberg Filtration Technologies?
Local roots, strong values
For Marc Erny, the decision involved several complementary factors. As a native of the region, 24-year-old Marc has strong family and social roots near Freudenberg’s headquarters in Weinheim, Germany. He plays in a local soccer league and all his friends live relatively nearby. “As a local boy, I knew Freudenberg well and respected the company’s tradition and values.”
The move to join Freudenberg was also motivated by his professor at the Mannheim technical university. Inspired by a course module he took on mechanical process technology, he decided to make this area the subject of his Bachelor’s thesis. Given the importance of process technology at Freudenberg, joining the company in October last year was an easy decision.
At age 24, Benedikt Koss is a little ahead of Marc. Having already completed his Bachelor studies in process engineering, the young chemical engineer joined Freudenberg in February 2016 and recently finished his Master’s thesis. This involves a collaboration between automotive filtration and media development, with a focus on nano fibers and membrane filter media. Originally, he got to know Freudenberg as an intern during the practical semester of his Bachelor course. What inspires him?
Working at the cutting edge
“It’s great being able to work in new areas of filtration technology, such as nano fibers. These are getting thinner all the time, which in turn opens up new potential application areas.” Most of the products he works on are first tested in the automotive sector, but a significant aspect of the work involves exploring possible applications in other sectors and industries.
In March this year, Benedikt Koss accepted a permanent position as Junior Project Manager Application Engineering, which will bring new challenges. Far from finding the prospect intimidating, he looks forward to being able to take on more responsibility as his experience and technical abilities develop. This facet of working at Freudenberg is something that all three young talents appreciate.
Born in Ukhta in Russia, 29-year-old Mariia Demicheva joined the company last November and is already taking on significant responsibility in her role as Junior Project Manager Application Engineering. Having completed her BSc in Helsinki and her MSc in plastics technology in Darmstadt, Mariia is currently working on developing new cabin air filters for several leading automotive manufacturers. “Since many of my relatives are engineers, it was easy for me to imagine the same career for myself and I’m not alone. Half the engineers in my team are women, which is great.”
Mariia is also among the first people in the company to benefit from Freudenberg’s “Best Buddy” program. As well as helping new recruits to find their feet in an unfamiliar work environment, the program offers personal and practical support outside work, such as help in finding an apartment or explaining how to register as a resident, find local clubs, and more.
A vision for the future
When asked how they saw their careers developing in the coming years, the size and scope of the company’s operations clearly plays an important role. “For me, traveling the world is not so important, but knowing there is plenty of potential to develop at Weinheim is reassuring”, said Marc Erny. With her international background, Mariia looks forward to experiencing the company outside Germany, if the chance comes along: “My first priority is to establish myself here, but the opportunity to travel and take on new challenges abroad is certainly attractive.”
In terms of their current roles, Benedikt is looking forward to increasing customer contact and expanding his involvement in the development phase: “That’s ultimately what our work here is all about: working in close partnership with our customers to create new solutions to challenges we don’t even know about yet”, he explained.
And what about the future? Could they envision themselves working for Freudenberg 10 or even 20 years from now? “Why not?” said Marc. “It’s a place where I will have plenty of opportunities, for sure.” And as Mariia observed, “I believe in what we are doing here: in the future, top-quality filters are only going to become more important for society.” Benedikt agreed: “Helping to write the next part of Freudenberg’s story of innovation is something I’d be proud to be involved in.”
On the evidence of these three talented and motivated young people, the future looks bright for Freudenberg Filtration Technologies.
