Just no routine.

Philipp Hofstetter, where are we here?
Officially, this place is called the Kaltbrunner Riet. It lies in the municipalities of Benken, Kaltbrunn and Uznach. This wetland – or Riet, as we call it – used to be under water. At the beginning of the 19th century, the water was canalised, creating this unique landscape of pastures, marshes and water. Today, it is a nature reserve and a bird sanctuary.

What connects you to this place?
I grew up on a farm near here. As children, we were often outside in nature, and this was our place to play and have fun. With friends from school, we built a hut in a small forest and spent practically every weekend there. I had a son two years ago, and we now walk here with him regularly. We observe the ducks, dragonflies and frogs or watch the cows in the nearby pastures.

How would you describe this area to make it attractive for an international customer of Otto Hofstetter AG as a place to live?
What you will definitely find here is tranquillity and lots of nature. It is very rural, yet you can find everything you need every day. The mountains are practically on your doorstep, and if you want to go a little higher, the Glarus, St. Gallen or Grison Alps can be reached quickly and easily. And the cities of Rapperswil and Zurich are not far, either.

What makes this rural life special?
Since I grew up in Benken and continue to live there, I can only speak for our village. Although the community has grown to 3,000 residents, we maintain a traditional village culture. People know each other, support each other and spend a lot of time together in different clubs. I have been a member of the carnival club for many years. I have also been deputy commander of the volunteer fire department for four years.
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Philipp Hofstetter

Head of Production and “coach” of over a hundred employees at Otto Hofstetter AG. Gained valuable professional experience in various positions over three decades before coming to Uznach on 1 May 2016.

But you haven’t been drawn to a big city?
No, I’m more of a nature person. This is probably because we really grew up in the middle of nature. To get to school, I had to cycle five kilometres. My three brothers and I also helped on the farm from an early age. After school, on weekends or during the holidays, we helped our parents in the field or in the stable. I liked working with cows the most. Today, I’m more drawn to the mountains. In winter I go on smaller ski tours and in summer we go hiking.

Although you enjoy being around cows, you chose a technical career. How come?
Technology has always fascinated me. Not necessarily tractors and agricultural machinery, but rather computers and other electronic devices. When choosing a career, it was still important to me to do some work with my hands and not just sit at a desk and use a mouse and a keyboard. It was also important for me to see what I had achieved in the evening. I saw the ideal combination for myself in the profession of polymechanic. I have been in this profession for twenty years now.

How did you come to Otto Hofstetter AG?
This was mostly just a coincidence. On my way to becoming a polymechanic, I got a taste of the professions of electrician and plastics technologist. However, available apprenticeships were rare. I found out about the apprenticeship offered in Uznach through an acquaintance who worked at Otto Hofstetter AG. I completed the usual trial apprenticeship and got the trainee spot. After four years, I completed my apprenticeship and worked as a milling cutter in soft machining until my mandatory military service.

How did your career continue?
Otto Hofstetter AG offered me the opportunity to return to my old sphere of activity after military service. However, after a while I felt a desire for change. This didn’t go unnoticed by my superiors, and so I was first transferred to the soft machining department and then to the hard machining department. I really liked it there because the jobs were very varied and always offered new challenges.

How important is having a challenge to you?
I don’t consciously seek them out, but I usually take one when it presents itself. In private life, it usually arises from a coincidental constellation of circumstances. For example, I ask my brothers or some colleagues if we should do something together. Then they decide to go on a big mountain tour. And I’m already in the middle of it. Becoming deputy commander of the village fire department was never my goal. I was always involved, and then one day I was asked whether I was confident enough to take on this leadership role. Things just happen sometimes.

You were away from Otto Hofstetter AG for a few years. What made you leave, and why did you come back?
Curiosity about a new field of activity with fresh challenges made me leave. I was offered the opportunity to actively participate in the design of a mechanical engineering company. However, it quickly became clear that there was little willingness to change anything. And since I’m someone who pays attention to the thousandth of a millimetre, I didn’t feel like production was the right place, either. After three months, my interlude outside of Otto Hofstetter AG was over and I returned to my role as deputy head of the HSC milling department.

Which you’ve been running for two years now. You lead a team of eight colleagues. What’s important to you in your work?
It is very important to me to engage with every employee just as they are. I am firmly convinced that there must not be just one leadership style for all, but rather individually tailored leadership styles. The days when a boss dictates how things should be done are over. While one colleague might want continuous support, another would prefer to be left alone. Some need positive confirmation, and others need a clear statement every now and then. I also make sure to recognise the talents of each individual on my team and use them accordingly. Here, I see a parallel to my role at the fire department. If a roof truss is burning, I will send up a firefighter who is a carpenter and not a merchant. If you put people where their strengths are, everyone wins.
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Are you a team player?
Absolutely. When I took over the department, I explained to the eight co-workers that I saw us as a team. This means that we tackle the tasks together and complete them all together. Nobody is just looking out for themselves, and it’s not about me as the department head. It’s about our task as a team and ultimately about Otto Hofstetter AG, the company.

How was that message received by your colleagues?
In the beginning, everyone was a bit hesitant, and every now and then we fell back into old patterns. But now things are running smoothly and we really work as a team. I attend the scheduling meetings every Wednesday and Thursday. On the way back to my team, I sometimes wonder how we will manage the programme, but it’s not uncommon for a colleague to figure out a solution.
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You are not only responsible for eight colleagues, but also for meeting deadlines. How do you deal with this pressure?
That’s the icing on the cake for me. I don’t see deadlines as pressure. Looking back on my short time outside of Otto Hofstetter AG, components were pre-produced there months in advance. It didn’t matter how quickly we completed our work. Every day was like the next. Improvisation or a special effort were simply not required.

It’s the same thing with responsibility. Of course, from the company’s perspective, it falls to me as department head. But there’s nothing wrong with distributing responsibilities among my team. That’s the way I deal with problems. This is where my experience as a firefighter comes in handy. A blazing building is a big problem. But if I divide it into sectors and distribute them among the teams, it becomes absolutely solvable.

Thanks to your daily work, Otto Hofstetter AG is known all over the world. Are you aware of that?
Basically, for me it’s typically Swiss that we deliver high-quality work. Most of us have completed a three- to four-year apprenticeship and want to put our skills to the test. I am convinced that everyone in the company is proud of what they do. And because quality is in demand in this market, I’m not surprised by the company’s success. We find out every now and then that this is the case. But, to be honest, we often hear about our work only when something isn’t 100 per cent perfect.

How do you deal with that?
Whether positive or negative, I think it’s very important to get feedback. If it concerns a specific deficiency, it helps us to improve. If it’s a problem that we didn’t know about before, we can tackle it through our expertise and flexibility. For example, during the pandemic we were able to circumvent materials shortages by finding an alternative supply that allowed us to ensure our customary high quality. I think this flexibility also contributes a lot to Otto Hofstetter AG’s good reputation.

What would you change in the company?
First, let me say that without knowing the full context, it is always easy to criticise and to claim to know how something could be improved. But, in addition to better capacity utilisation, I see great potential for us in the area of digitalisation. We have taken the first steps in some departments, and more are planned. In our production, we use the latest technology with a high degree of digitalisation and automation. In my opinion, it would be exciting if we could connect these individual islands with each other and gain valuable insights from the data collected.

How do you see your own future in the company?
As already mentioned, I love new challenges. In this respect, the expansion of the offering to the medical sector was a very pleasing thing for me. We can show what complex shapes we are able to produce. Since I like working on the machine myself, my future doesn’t lie in the office. But I am always available for automation projects.

What are your private plans?
Over the past two years, we have completely renovated and expanded our house. So there are no plans from that side. Maybe the family will grow and with it my desire to have more time for them. To do this, I will probably reduce my involvement in clubs somewhat and also not run for the position of fire chief.

Thank you for this conversation and all the best for
the future.

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