CLAAS careers: Individual success stories.

My career at CLAAS:
My enthusiasm for technology combined with a huge interest in agriculture were the main reasons why I decided to study mechanical engineering, specialising in "agricultural engineering" at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences (now the TH Cologne). In 2005, I spent my first practical phase at CLAAS. One year later I started my diploma thesis in the technical development department, where I dealt with measuring methods for determining combine harvester performance and their further development. I was able to accompany various field operations, also internationally.
After successfully applying for the International Trainee Programme at CLAAS, I was sent on group-wide assignments in Germany and abroad. The highlights were the stay abroad in Australia for the XERION market launch, exciting sales projects in Morocco and various stations with dealers in Germany.
In 2009, I became a product manager for combine harvesters in the CLAAS sales company. As the connecting link between product and market, I work on bundling product requirements with a view to customer benefit and passing these on within the company. From a broader perspective, the aim is of course also to keep the sales department itself "product fit". Here, I mean our internal sales department as well as our sales partners.
In 2016, I moved to the sales department of the CLAAS sales company.

That is how I came to CLAAS:
I grew up with CLAAS agricultural machinery. My family is a contractor and CLAAS has always stood for modern agricultural technology. So the decision to apply here was an easy one.

My specific duties:
As a representative in the field, I am responsible for the distribution of CLAAS harvesting technology in a defined area. Intensive customer care and regular communication with our sales partners are part of my daily business.
I am a Claasian and enjoy sales and marketing. This is where I see myself now and also in the future.

This is what I like in particular about my work:
CLAAS builds great agricultural machinery. The conviction of being able to offer the customer the best possible solution for his task is the motivator for our daily business.

My biggest challenge at CLAAS so far:
Working life consists of many exciting situations. I can still remember my first product presentation during the early purchase or my first sales talk. It's all about how to deal with challenges of all sizes and the chance for further development.

The company culture at CLAAS is marked by ...
...identification with the products and the CLAAS brand.

This is what distinguishes CLAAS as an employer from other companies:
We have that certain WE feeling and a wide range of development opportunities for each individual. That's what distinguishes CLAAS!

My personal career advice for future academics:
Identify your strengths and your motivation. What inspires me? Don't lose the courage to dare something new!

Course of study/education:
Business Administration (BA) at the Berufsakademie Stuttgart

My career at CLAAS:

• Since June 2013: Head of Merchandising
• 2007-2013: Assistant Corporate Development
• 2004-2007: Assistant to the Managing Director
• 2003-2004: Clerical/Sales Assistant for the regions Overseas and Rest of World
• 2000-2003: Dual study programme (CLAAS/ Berufsakademie Stuttgart)
  

This is how I came to CLAAS:
Already at school, I realised that a classic university course of studies was not going to be an option for me, so I looked for alternatives with direct practical relevance. As a provider of dual study programmes and with the best references, CLAAS was thus high on my personal preference list. Nevertheless, other companies were also on my personal short list, and I could choose between well-known publically listed companies and CLAAS. Ultimately, CLAAS was able to clearly convince me in a personal interview and in the way it treats its employees: a decision that I have not regretted to this day.

This is what I like in particular about my work:
As Head of Merchandising, I am responsible for merchandising at the CLAAS Group from beginning to end and also for the visibility and image of the CLAAS brand. What I especially like is that my work brings me in contact with diverse topics and that I am in demand both for textile issues, as well as organisational challenges. As "a company within the company", the area of merchandising is exciting, new and versatile every day.

My specific duties:
Currently I am intensely involved in the design and commissioning of our new merchandising collection for the up-coming year, which I hope will inspire a broad target group and also make the CLAAS brand attractive outside of agriculture. In addition to a wellrounded and successful collection, marketing topics are also important, in order to reach our customers with our products and be emotionally appealing. In addition, the expansion of licensing opportunities, which is important for CLAAS, such as in the toy sector, is a subject that I like to manage. In the medium term, I am also working on optimising process flows and improving the integration of merchandising procedures into standard processes at CLAAS.

My biggest challenge at CLAAS so far:
My current job is also my biggest challenge at the same time, because I have to manage a very diverse team of employees every day and also have to be able to tackle a variety of needs from different areas. Keeping as many balls in the air simultaneously, providing sufficient motivation but also pointing out free spaces and boundaries, sharing failure and success, are both a challenge and fulfilment for me.

The company culture at CLAAS is marked by ...
… a spirit of innovation and a sense of togetherness. Although CLAAS has reached a considerable size as a company, I feel as one part of the "whole" as an employee, but never as just a number among many. For me, this is the feeling of belonging to an originally family-owned company.

This inspires me to work at CLAAS:
Through my diverse contacts within the company, like distributors and customers in the national and international environment, but also external partners, producers and service providers, I face daily challenges. Nevertheless, it is nice to experience a high degree of consistency with all these contacts, which in my opinion represents a lasting positive impression in this ever faster spinning world.

This is what distinguishes CLAAS as an employer from other companies:
Since I have never worked for other companies due to my personal history, I cannot answer this question based on my work experience so far. On the one hand, it is fascinating for me to see how pleasantly we treat one another at CLAAS - this also applies across hierarchies - and, on the other hand, the contribution of CLAAS to feeding the global population of the world.

My personal career advice for future academics:
Set specific goals and remain loyal to yourself. In the long run, there can be no success by trying to please others and ending up in an unwanted position. In order to receive personal satisfaction from your work, you should be both visionary and realistic - and sometimes it helps to be just a little bit crazy!

My career at CLAAS:

• March 2004: Service technician in the international field service. Specialist area tractors, support of our international dealers in identifying faults on machines and through training.
• October 2006: Assignment to Omaha, NE, USA as Marketing Specialist. Supervision of the launch of the XERION on the North American market. Preparation of price lists and marketing documents, presentation of the XERION on trade fairs and at demonstrations, search for local manufacturers for attachments adapted to the XERION.
• May 2009: Company representative for tractors in Bavaria
• May 2011: Customer service inspector for EASY (Efficient Agriculture Systems) products in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg

This is how I came to CLAAS:

I'm a qualified agricultural machinery mechanic. Before I started studying agricultural machinery technology at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences, I did an internship in the workshop of a CLAAS dealer in Tulare, CA, USA. I participated in relevant training courses at the CLAAS Academy before starting my internship, and during my internship I worked more intensively in the service department for the CLAAS JAGUAR. During my studies I did an internship semester at CLAAS in the area of sales promotion/marketing. From December 2002 to March 2003 I also worked again as an agricultural machinery mechanic for a CLAAS dealer in Ashburton, New Zealand. I completed my studies with a diploma thesis at CLAAS in the pre-development department of a crop harvester in Harsewinkel. Afterwards, I went straight into the After Sales Service department.

My specific duties:

I support our dealers in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg with questions and problems with our EASY (Efficient Agricultural Systems) products. The day-to-day business usually consists of the following activities:

• Telephone support for the technicians at our dealers
• Instruction of the technicians in new products from the EASY product range
• Training of technicians in the areas of technology and administration
• Support of the technicians on site during troubleshooting of the machines
• Supervision of pre-series EASY products
• Warranty processing

The products that fall into my area are, besides the GPS PILOT, TELEMATICS, REMOTE SERVICE, CROP SENSOR, yield mapping, ISOBUS as well as data exchange with software solutions such as 365FarmNet.

This is what I like in particular about my work:

The EASY division is a very innovative area in which development is progressing very quickly. Especially because of the ongoing digitalization. That is why there are always many new and exciting topics and products that you can familiarize yourself with. In addition, there is a very balanced mixture of office hours and field work in my job, whereby you always spend time with the machines in the field. Through my role as a customer service inspector, I myself have the responsibility for organising and working through issues in my field. Therefore I am able to organize myself on my own responsibility.

The company culture at CLAAS is marked by ...

• Open and friendly interaction with one another.
• A lot of transparency.
• Above-average commitment to the company on the part of our employees.
• A customer-oriented approach.
• Good support from CLAAS in promoting and training employees.
• The appreciation of good performance.
• Great support from the company for employees in almost all situations.

This is what distinguishes CLAAS as an employer from other companies:

I can't say, because I have not yet worked for another company during my 16 years of professional life - apart from the one or other internship or holiday job before. But in any case, the family atmosphere at CLAAS is definitely a positive aspect. This allows short official channels when quick solutions are required. In addition, superiors and management always have an open ear for questions and input from employees.

My personal career advice for future academics:

My opinion is that you can never gain enough practical experience in a practice-oriented industry such as agricultural engineering before you start your career. Not least because of my own career path, I can of course warmly recommend an apprenticeship in agricultural engineering or agriculture, supplemented by appropriate internships, as a meaningful foundation. I believe that suitable solutions can only be developed for our customers if we are all as close as possible to practical applications and do not lose touch.

My career at CLAAS:

• 2012: Internship CLAAS Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH / Marketing harvest technic Bavaria
  
• 2013: Internship Usines CLAAS France SAS / Product Marketing Baler
  
• 2014: Final thesis CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen in Harsewinkel / Product Management combine harvesters
  
• Since May 2017: Product specialist for forage harvesting at CLAAS Saulgau
  

That is how I came to CLAAS:

I grew up with two sisters on my parents' farm with farming and contracting (of course with seed green machines). From childhood on, I have always enjoyed being outside with my dad. So I decided to turn my hobby into a career and began my studies at the Weihenstephan University of Applied Sciences in Triesdorf: industrial engineering, agricultural marketing and management with a focus on agricultural engineering. However, I never thought that I would really end up at CLAAS one day and I am very happy to be here today.

My specific duties:

Together with my colleagues, I am responsible for product marketing for all forage harvesters and loader wagons in Bad Saulgau. We make sure that there are photos, videos and all the information and marketing materials for our machines. In addition, we are responsible for visitor management and customer support at our location in Bad Saulgau.

This inspires me to work at CLAAS:

I like working with our machines and the balance between working in the office and outside in the fresh air. But above all I am fascinated by the team spirit. Especially at major events, it's incredible what you can achieve together.

My biggest challenge so far:

After a month as a product specialist, I was the main presenter at a launch event. That was an incredible opportunity and experience - a brilliant start into the seed-green world. With the right team around, you sometimes achieve more than you think you can.

The company culture at CLAAS is marked by:

The seed-green blood of our employees.

My personal career advice for future academics:

Have confidence in yourself and don't give up if you don't succeed the first time.

My career to date:

I completed an international business administration degree course, majoring in financial controlling, at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and the Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, writing my dissertation in the Corporate Controlling department at CLAAS. I then embarked on my professional career there directly.
As Investment Controller for the tractors division in France and for the Indian subsidiary, I was thrown in at the deep end and given a lot of responsibility – including travel to distant countries.
After working in Corporate Controlling for three years, I have been Assistant to the Chairman of the Shareholders' Committee for two years. Since October 2013, I have been working in the position of an International Parts Manager, focusing on Middle and Western Europe.

How I came to CLAAS:

One of my university professors was working on a project in collaboration with CLAAS. This gave rise to the initial contacts and the possibility of a period of an internship then arose.

What I like most about my work:

As International Parts Manager, I am responsible for the extension of our CLAAS Original Spare Parts business in "my" countries – in my case Middle and Western Europe. Firstly, I consult and advise sales companies in France, the United Kingdom and Poland. In these cases, mainly strategic topics such as potential analysis for spare parts of market entries for new service products. Additionally, I am responsible for markets covered by importers, e.g. Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland or Australia. For them, varied matters are relevant, such as pricing, marketing, product management, logistics or sales administration – and they need to be discussed in close cooperation of importers and different departments.

The flat hierarchies enable you to gain a lot of responsibility quickly, which promotes personal independence. In this way I can gain valuable experience for future management roles.

My greatest challenge so far at CLAAS:

Actually experiencing the inter-cultural work I explored during my studies. You quickly realise that those of us from a European background first have to adapt to the working methods of other cultures, and measure our success in work by different criteria from the ones we have become used to.

The corporate culture at CLAAS is characterised by …

... openness and a sense of being down-to-earth, together with an international touch.

What inspires me about working for CLAAS:

The quality of the products and the good relations between colleagues strike me anew every day. Not forgetting the fact that once the work is done we sometimes have the opportunity to try out the machines for ourselves at the test site.

What makes CLAAS stand out as an employer from other companies:

A lot of trust is placed in you and you can take on a lot of responsibility. The sturdy products from CLAAS fill you with enthusiasm and you love catching sight of a CLAAS combine harvester, whether on your way to work or on holiday.

My personal career tip for students:

Always be eager to learn and stay true to yourself – then you will enjoy your work. 

This is how I came to my current profession:

I completed my degree course in mechanical engineering with an immersion course in automotive engineering at the RWTH Aachen University and already had come into contact with vehicle electronics and driver assistance systems. The trigger for my career choice was not only enthusiasm for electrics and electronics, but also passion for agricultural machinery, due to my agricultural background.

This is what inspires me:

The optimisation potential, which derives from using electronics in agricultural machinery, is very interesting from a technical perspective, as well as the ability to relieve the driver. This is the case, for example, through the down-to-a-centimetre accuracy of the automatic steering of harvesters and tractors with the help of GPS, the optimisation of fuel consumption through engine management using automatic transmissions or optimisation of machine systems by networking individual machines (M2M communication). Personally, I am enthusiastic about developing cooperation between experts from various disciplines within the company, as well as with suppliers and universities.

This is how the internationality of CLAAS shapes my work:

Through the internationalisation process, cooperation with foreign colleagues is part of the daily agenda. This applies for the collaboration with suppliers from abroad as well as for the cooperation with colleagues from other locations within the CLAAS group, for example, for group-wide projects with team members from France. A prolonged stay abroad promotes language skills, intercultural competence and personality development. This collaboration also makes working in international teams easier.

What I am currently working on:

Currently, I am responsible for the development of a powertrain management system for a large tractor, amongst other things. This works as follows:

• First, the specifications are conveyed to the suppliers and development partners involved
• The development process is accompanied by regular meetings/teleconferences with evaluation of the results and deciding on the next steps
• It becomes exciting when the software of the two suppliers is integrated into the vehicle together. Now driving is coordinated in several development loops so that it meets the customer requirements under all possible operating conditions. These include feedback from test drivers and selected customers. One particular task is to interpret customer requirements regarding handling into technical parameters such as engine speeds or acceleration values. Based on these specifications, the software developers and application engineers can design the regulator systems, accordingly.

Furthermore, I am involved in the development of operator terminals for tractors. This involves defining first of all the functions of a tractor which are relevant for information and operation purposes across the Group in an international team. The technical specification for a terminal and the operating controls are then created in the next step. This includes defining the CAN-bus communication and electrical interfaces, as well as the specification of the corresponding software and finally the concept for the controls.

The company culture at CLAAS is marked by ...

... mutual respect and passion for agriculture.

My personal career advice for future academics ...

Keep to your own goals persistently, but also sometimes stray from the beaten path.