"We have a lot of fun!"

Interview with workshop manager Heino Müller

03. August 2022

He is the first one in the workshop in the morning. He gets up at four o'clock to train and took part in the Hamburg Ironman in June. Our workshop manager Heino Müller is really full of energy! In the interview, he introduces himself and his tasks.

How long have you been working at Märtens and how did you get involved with the company?

I started at Märtens in May 2000. I heard about the company from acquaintances and applied directly.

What are your tasks as workshop manager?

I am responsible for the maintenance of the production. We use our own machines for the production of our rod network belts, and of course they have to be maintained. Since technology and our products are always evolving, the machines have to be modified. We also produce special machines and spare parts in our workshop.

I am also responsible for training our apprentices. We offer an apprenticeship as an industrial mechanic and mechatronics technician, which lasts 3.5 years. The hierarchies are flat and we work together as equals. In the past, apprentices were shown how a work step worked, and if they did it wrong, they were shown again. Learning today is different; our trainees are expected to work independently. Sometimes mistakes happen, but they learn from them and do better the next time.

What do you enjoy most about your work at Märtens?

The team! We have a lot of fun. Working with our trainees also keeps me young myself - you're not 20 anymore (laughs).

The tasks are very varied, there is no routine work here.

What makes Märtens stand out as an employer?

The working hours are super! Our apprentices, for example, have a 35-hour week - that hardly ever happens nowadays. I like the flexibility, because I like to get up early and be the first one in the workshop at six in the morning. Then in the afternoon, if it suits me, I can finish work early.

How do you prefer to spend your free time?

With my family, working on the house, our dog and sports - lots of sports! I'm a triathlete and train a lot. Sometimes I get up at four o'clock and run the 10 km from my house in Großsolt to work.

I also like to take part in competitions. At the Ostseeman in Glücksburg I was there, of course, and at the Ironman Hamburg. For my 50th birthday I gave myself the participation as a present. That was two years ago, but the pandemic threw a spanner in the works. This year it finally worked out.

EMPLOYEE PORTRAIT