Sven Müller celebrates 25 years as an employee

Hello Sven, also from the PR department congratulations on your anniversary!

Thank you very much.

Would you like to briefly give a few key points about your career?

Sure, I'd love to. So let me think for a moment, it's been some time. When I was 16, I applied as an apprentice at the Automotive Engineering Department (FZD). Quite simply: my grandmother, who brought me up, approached me with the advertisement in the Darmstädter Echo “Sven, that's exactly what you're looking for!” I then prevailed against many other candidates and on 1.9.1996, I was allowed to start. Back then, training was a little different than it is today.

What do you mean by that?

Much stricter, of course, what do you think? You had to work accurately right from the start. Back then, it was only the master who trained personally. Nowadays, this task is more distributed.

You were trained as a precision mechanic at the FZD?

No, I was trained as a mechanical engineer.

How long did you stay there?

Until September first 2016, when I transferred to the neighboring PtU.

Did you have to change a lot?

At PtU or PTW, the focus is not on automotive engineering, of course, but I can use my knowledge and skills here just as well, and the challenges are definitely no less at PtU. But that's also what I love about my work. Completely new problems again and again. You have to rack your brains, tinker, test, discuss a lot. It is a mixture between imagination, construction and practical execution. Very often you have to leave the usual path and think “out of the box”. My years of experience help me immensely, but you also have to stay very flexible.

The theoretical idea of the scientist can rarely be implemented 1:1, much is created in dialogue, I love this liveliness, to get involved with the idea of the other, to think through, comment, weigh and this “Let's try it, somehow we get it done” With exactly these thoughts I get up every morning.

Sven, what do you think, will AI eventually make the mechanic obsolete?

(smirks) hopefully not! But it's not up to me to give a final answer.

Why not, Sven? Lean out of the window, nobody will tear your head off! You will surely have thought about it more often?

All right, (laughs) I think the mechanic is irreplaceable, just because of his experience, he can think around the corner much faster and react in time and take a more promising path when things get tight. He can think ahead.

On the other hand: when I think of all this modern technology. Milling independently with automatic regrinding of tools, suggesting the best strategy from start to finish, and and and…Who would have thought that was possible when I started my apprenticeship?

But surely you want to know: (laughter), “Does Sven think that the robot will completely replace the human?” In short. I believe: No. But belief is not knowledge. (Laughter)

Finally, what tip do you often give to the Wimis?

Look for several possible solutions! If you choose a solution from them, think about this solution!

Sven, thank you very much for the nice interview and all the best for the future.

(The interview was conducted by E. Henkes)