I Have Found Professional Fulfillment at Muller Martini

Not only are there many roads that lead to Rome, but sometimes also to Muller Martini. Stefan Ging, 33, completed an apprenticeship as a floor layer, then worked as a bartender, did an internship at a daycare center, worked for eight years on various machines at Muller Martini customers, joined Muller Martini in 2022 and has been a team leader in the assembly of saddle stitchers since last May. Read the following blog to find out why the enthusiastic triathlete has found professional fulfillment at Muller Martini and how he experienced his premiere at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii this fall.
 
To be honest, I was a bad student because I was never really interested in class. I sold myself short for a long time and only realized what I was capable of late. That's why I didn't have a dream job as a child. Instead, after graduating from secondary school in Rothrist, I decided to do a three-year apprenticeship as a floor layer at Schilla Bodenbelags AG in Trimbach. The deciding factor was that I've always liked manual work – which certainly has something to do with the fact that my father is a construction manager. So, for example, I worked on my moped during my youth.
 
Bartender, daycare internship, machine operator
Because I had knee problems, I didn't work in my trained profession after my apprenticeship, but instead worked as a bartender for two years. After that, I completed a six-month internship at a daycare center. Because I liked it there, I wanted to go to a university of applied sciences and passed the entrance exam. But it took nine months before the new course started. So I took a temporary job at Schär Druckverarbeitung AG in Wikon, where I worked on a Müller Martini saddle stitcher.
 
I liked that too and stayed with Schär for seven years. I worked my way up, first becoming a machine operator and then head of the saddle stitcher and punching machine department, managing a team of six. After a one-year stint at Merkur Druck AG in Langenthal, where I was a saddle stitcher machine operator, I joined Muller Martini in Zofingen in June 2022.
 
I immediately felt at home at Muller Martini
To put it romantically, I have found my professional fulfillment here. I worked as an assembler for cross-stackers for two years before I was promoted to team leader of the saddle stitcher assembly team in May. Since I had already had contact with Muller Martini during my time at Schär, the onboarding process was quite easy for me. Month after month, I learned more – for example, how to read drawings and then use those drawings to assemble the machines.
 
I felt comfortable at Muller Martini right away. I appreciate the helpfulness of my supervisors and colleagues, as well as the way I am supported. I feel needed here, enjoy my work and look forward to coming to the Zofingen plant every day. What I find particularly fascinating about my job is the responsibility for my team of ten, the independence and the freedoms. I think it's cool to build a machine, sell it to a bookbindery and make a customer happy. Of course, building a machine is a complex matter that requires a focused approach. But if you do make a mistake you will not be reprimanded for it.
 
I like to tinker
As a team leader, I now spend half of my working hours at the computer, but during the other half I continue to assemble saddle stitchers myself. For one thing, I don't like sitting at the PC all day. For another, I like to tinker. This keeps me up to date, because I want to be able to continue doing this myself.
 
To learn more about leadership, I recently attended a six-day team leader course. In our assembly team, everyone is responsible for a part of the saddle stitcher – one for the three-knife trimmer, one for the stitching machine and a mechatronics engineer for the electrical elements. We are also responsible for the InfiniTrim trimming robot.
 

Watch this video to see how Stefan Ging prepared for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.

A Successful Adventure at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii
Because I'm happy overall, I'm not making any plans for my professional future at the moment. I am not the career type so I don't have a five or ten year plan. When it comes to my great passion, things look a little different. I have been doing triathlons and duathlons for five years now. As I am employed full-time at Muller Martini, I have to coordinate my training and competitions well with work, of course.
 
I have already celebrated some successes in my still short sports career. In 2019, 2021 and 2022, I became duathlon amateur world champion in my age group. This year, I fulfilled a big dream and qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in October, with a 3.8 kilometer swim, 180 kilometer bike ride and 42 kilometer run, thanks to a good placement at the Ironman in Thun in July. My goal was to finish in under ten hours. I managed to do that despite health issues before the race – in addition to an injury, I was also sick for three days before flying out from Switzerland – and despite the intense heat, finishing in nine hours, 55 minutes and 47 seconds meant I was extremely happy.
 
My sights are set on the 2026 Ironman World Championship
I stayed in Hawaii for another week after that to recover in the warmth together with my girl-friend Cindy. Because Muller Martini reported on my Hawaii adventure via LinkedIn with several posts, I received many comments from Switzerland, which made me very happy. One of them even expressed the wish that I should re-spray my bike in the Muller Martini corporate color, laser blue...
 
Next year's Ironman World Championship is in Nice, France. I won't be taking part in that one, because for me the Ironman World Championship is associated with the myth of Hawaii. But I imagine I will be trying for Hawaii again in 2026. I would like to improve on my result this year. After training 15 to 20 hours a week before the World Cup, I am currently only doing a little sport every day. From the new year, however, I will be intensifying my training again and I am looking forward to the next challenges, such as the Ironman in Roth, Germany, in July.
 
Cycling tour with a Muller Martini customer
Two years ago, I was also able to share my passion for sports with a Muller Martini customer. Juan S. Estrada Hérnandez, owner and CEO of IDEEO 4.0/Gráficas Corona in Mexico, visited Zofingen in October 2022 to see for himself the company's investment in the Alegro perfect binder and the BF PRO bookline. As a former marathon runner and owner of his own cycling team, he asked if anyone would like to accompany him on two bike tours. Of course, I accepted immediately. On the first day, we traveled from Lucerne to Entlebuch and back at 7:30 a.m. Twenty-four hours later, the second tour also started in Lucerne and we went around Lake Zug and up the Zugerberg. We both really enjoyed it.
 
Yours,
Stefan Ging, Assembly Team Leader for Saddle Stitchers
 
If you are interested in starting your career at Muller Martini, we highly recommend it. Just visit our Shape the Future career portal – we are particularly looking for qualified electrical engineers!