When asked to describe her new remit in one sentence, Birgit Hahn answers: “I send experts for all on-site erection jobs out into the big wide world.” For many years, she had herself been one of these experts. Starting as a student trainee and intern, Birgit, who is now 41 years old, has worked for Krones since 2002. It did not take her long to realise one thing: “One fine day, I want to see the world outside Neutraubling.” After she graduated, she therefore took a job as a service engineer so that she could travel the world. “Well, to be honest, my first job site was in Eastern Germany, so not really the big adventure after all,” says Birgit, laughing. But only a few months later, she was sent to China – and then to the USA, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Russia and to almost every European country. In the years that followed she saw it all, from mega-cities right down to the back of beyond.
Always give full value!
“On the various sites, I soon became a trouble-shooter,” she recalls. Getting to grips with difficult baseline situations, handling complicated conversion jobs and solving microbiological problems made up most of her daily work. She travelled the world on behalf of Krones on 250 to 300 days a year. Being the only woman on most sites never bothered her. “You see, my field of work is a male preserve, that’s just the way it is. But I never let that get to me – I always gave full value in my job, convinced them with my results, so it never became a problem,” says Birgit Hahn.
