“The owner of a renowned German production company
for dry baked goods had a special challenge for me when
it came to designing a new line for shaped baked goods.
Production was already utilizing several WP lines. It was
requested that we take an existing special product sorting
machine into consideration when designing the new line.
On closer inspection, I found out that the machine was
40 years old and had been built in 1961, the year when
I was born. In fact, the old plans were still available in
our archives. Our predecessors did a great job with this
durable customized machine. We based our development
of the new line on these plans.
Putting the line into operation was a real thrill because
one component had to be replaced at the first day of
production. I phoned the boss during the evening to get
permission to integrate the individual part. Bang on time
at 7 am – I was just fastening the last screw – the first
cookies came out of the oven. I held my breath – but
everything was working smoothly.”
Siegfried Lauer started working for WP as project engi-
neer in Stuttgart-Feuerbach in 1989. Today, he is head of
project planning for the dry baked goods section.
“Immediately after our eleventh production line was suc-
cessfully put into operation at one of the largest industrial
bakery groups in South-East Asia, the customer challen-
ged us again. We had to play indoor football against his
team. Quickly we took a 0-2 lead. However, our fitness
could not cope with the tropical climate and we lost the
game with 9-7 after extra time and a penalty shootout.
There were huge celebrations following victory over the
German team and some spectators even asked the WP
team for autographs. Despite the defeat, we were happy
to have satisfied our customer in this challenge as well.”
Siegfried Bofinger joined WP in 1969. Currently he is
deputy sales manager for the fresh baked goods sector.
Challenging requests
Experience - Experts - Episodes
