Manuela Rauw I came into contact with the transport sector early on, as my father had a timber transport company, and the first timber truck built by Faymonville was my father's. As a child, I was always by his side, and even when I was in school, I always ran home to take a walk with him. On weekends, we fixed lights or changed tires. So the foundations had already been laid. Before I started at Faymonville, I travelled a lot abroad and worked as a tour guide and later as a manager in various target regions. Unfortunately, my father became ill and I returned home. I wondered what I would do here. There were not many companies that had such interesting and Europe-wide projects as Faymonville. Of course, my advantage was the five languages that I still speak fluently today. So I introduced myself and started 20 years ago as a saleswoman – the first saleswoman in heavy transport worldwide. I looked after dealers all over Europe, in Germany as well as in France, Scandinavia, England and Ireland. I gave training to sales partners, helped at trade fairs, took care of day-to-day business and visited customers. A few years later, I also took over the glass transport sector. This is still the case today, except that I no longer manage France and Germany. In most cases, I do the work by phone or email and am on the road less often than I was before. The preparation of budgets, the control of day-to-day business and responding to inquiries are an integral part of my everyday life.
In sales, it is important to be able to react quickly to different situations. In my case, it is also an important point to guide and support our dealers. I think that a salesperson should speak several languages, as I assume that Faymonville will continue to grow and English will be a dominant language in the company.
When I started back then, I was the first woman at Faymonville, and that was quite a challenge. The customers accepted it very quickly, but in-house, it took a little longer. In the end, my success proved my worth, and my colleagues got used to the idea. Of course, there are sometimes still silly comments, but I no longer pay attention to them myself, because men generally talk like this among themselves. But it's also fun to tease each other. These days, the situation is different. The next generation to arrive demonstrated significantly more tolerance. I think I was also a bit of a guinea pig, because, in addition to the innovative way of thinking of Alain and Yves, they only had daughters themselves, which, of course, made the succession female. I can only advise any girl who chooses an industry that is not typically female not to be discouraged and to choose her own path. Because a little femininity does a man's world a great deal of good. The important thing is that you work with passion, no matter what you do. Of course, this also applies to the boys. I'm not a fan of the quota rule, where hiring is based on percentages. I believe that there should be equal pay and equal benefits for equal work. Promotions should simply be given to the best. You can only move forward if you hire committed and motivated people, and gender doesn't matter in my opinion. A lot has changed in terms of typical male occupations. For example, we no longer require anyone to be particularly strong in production, on the contrary – we have improved jobs so that work is feasible for everyone. Today, women genuinely have a realistic chance. At Faymonville, a woman can do anything, from welding to business management, if she wants to and has what it takes.
Men and women work in a fundamentally different way. I think that men are more relaxed in their way of working, while women work in a more concentrated and organized way. I am most motivated to work independently, to take on responsibility and to manage various projects. The most fun part of it all for me is finding quick solutions and giving my all to satisfy the customer. What I find great anyway is the contact with many different nations. In addition, it is always nice to show people our factory and to see their eyes light up. We produce toys for big boys – a real candy shop.
Basically, I wouldn't do anything differently. There have been so many opportunities, and I have met so many different and interesting people – what more could you ask for? In addition, the journey continues, because he who rests, rusts. What I would like to tell young people is that things usually turn out differently than you think. You just have to get involved, grow and develop.
Jonas Niessen At school in Malmedy, I chose electromechanics. I was always interested in knowing what was actually going on up there on the domain (Büllingen site). I came to Faymonville during the taster weeks, I enjoyed it and started an apprenticeship as a chassis manufacturer. I particularly liked the fact that the apprenticeship was very flexible and you changed stations every two months, which was cool. You have to start somewhere, and if you have gone through all the stations, this is definitely an advantage for later, because you get to know the product really well.
At the end of the second year of my apprenticeship, I was offered the opportunity to work in the breakdown service. I was able to gain experience in this, I liked it and I worked in the service department for a year after my training. There, I was prepared for the job as a breakdown assistant and first worked in a team in which I could gain further experience before I took over the position from my colleague. At the moment, I am training as a breakdown assistant for the self-propelled vehicles of Cometto.
My mentors are Arno and Paul, both of whom have made an enormous contribution to my development. One of the most important things I have learned from them is that when you have a problem in front of you, you should take a step back, broaden your view, see the whole problem and rethink it. Remy, a really great boss, has a huge amount of general knowledge and always finds a solution. I have been with Faymonville for ten years and with service in Büllingen for seven years.
In my position, you have to be very flexible and show maximum dedication. You have to be able to rely on me. As soon as I get a call from customer service, I'm on the road, and there's no question about whether I'm driving or not – I'm driving. Product knowledge and interest in the product are the be-all and end-all, and this also includes continuous further training. You learn a lot from others, which helps you find solutions. In addition, it's great to meet so many different people. I actually wanted to travel the world at the age of 25, and I am happy that I can now combine this with my job.
The biggest challenge is actually the same as the most fun part of my job – finding solutions. You never know exactly what to expect, and that's a kick, in my opinion. Although I work alone, I have a great after-sales team behind me that always supports me. I am very proud of what I have achieved. Above all, the fact that the technical office listens to me. I have worked hard to get to where I am now, and that makes me very proud. If I drive away from a customer and he is happy, this also makes me happy, and all the stress disappears in a puff of air.
As advice, I can only say to everyone: "Nothing will come of nothing". Nothing falls from the sky, and you have to work hard for everything.
Why Faymonville? The product excites me, and there are always new challenges. In addition, the service workshop in Büllingen is near my place of residence, which is very practical.
Barbara Anzalone How I came to Cometto is very easy to answer. I grew up there, so to speak. My father led the production, and so I was always there as a child. I've always been very interested in human resources and that's the field in which I completed my degree. At the age of 20, I had the opportunity to work at Cometto on a one-year contract as a substitute and have stayed there ever since. I started in 1998 and worked as a warehouse and production secretary for the first year, then for four years in the purchasing office and another four years as a production planner. From 2008, I worked for ten years in the department for spare parts and customer service and took care of the warehouse, purchasing and logistics.
The opportunity to really get involved came in 2018 after the acquisition of Faymonville, when I was, to my surprise, offered the role of production management, when a larger restructuring was due, which I managed with enthusiasm for four years. The acquisition was one of my biggest challenges. When I came to the Faymonville group, we changed completely in a short time, we changed the speed and the production methods, we learned to work according to goals. The internal relations have changed, and I was commissioned to bring this change into production, both on an operational and a mental level. At the same time, I worked hard to earn my credibility in a position that had never been occupied by a woman before. I've been working in a man's world all my life, and I don't know any other environment. In every position I held, I wanted to learn not only the mere execution of the work, but also to understand the logic behind it, and I was never afraid to face anyone as an equal. My advice to girls who are interested in a profession that is not typical for women is just to take the job without thinking too much about it. What counts is the quality of the work and the values you put into it. In general, I can only advise every young person not to expect everything to come to you immediately. Above all, success in your private and professional life is a path to which one must devote time and attention. You always have to keep in mind that your comfort zone is the enemy of growth and success.
Today, I am responsible for the HR department. For me, the most important thing here is to have the right person in the right place. Today, this also means creating careers and professions by understanding how to give talent the right direction.
Overall, my skills and abilities were always recognized, but it was Faymonville, a foreign company, that offered me a real growth opportunity. My motivation is clearly the wish that we continue to improve. Every time we complete a project, I see how new development fronts almost automatically open up, because the perspective and point of view change. If I look at Cometto today, we have achieved a lot in a short time, and that is also thanks to my contribution to creating a motivated and successful team, and I am proud of that.
Christophe Mennicken I am a structural engineer by profession, and have completed my studies as a civil engineer. During my student days, I worked for almost five years in the repair and maintenance workshop in Büllingen. In 2020, I was then hired as a process engineer at Faymonville. I focused on small and large digitization projects. We spent two years developing a planning system in a team of around seven people and activated it in pre-assembly in Luxembourg. The work in the team was a lot of fun for me and the combination of production and IT skills was particularly exciting. The biggest challenge was implementing it and ensuring that it is practiced and integrated into everyday life on a permanent basis. The changeover took place from one day to the next and was an enormous challenge for all of us, as the usual way of working was completely turned upside down.
After leading this project for two years, I worked for six months as a steel construction team leader in the machinery department. For the last six months, I have been working as a production manager in steel construction here in Luxembourg, which is incredibly fun.
All these stages have taught me one thing: Either you switch on your brain or you lend a hand. In my current position as a production manager, you don't have to be extremely proficient in either aspect, but rather find a balance between the two. You should be analytical or pragmatic, and have technical skills, without having to be an expert in every area. You have to have a certain rigour, but also an ability to integrate at the right moments. You have to be able to act quickly, but carefully. It is particularly important to have team spirit and to be professional.
I am particularly proud to work at Faymonville. Why is this the case? It is a highly professional company, but it is run in a very friendly way. In a way, it is the Porsche in our industry. You get a lot of encouragement, which is really motivating.
We only produce what is actually needed or ordered. We reduce waste wherever possible. Faymonville began lean production even before my arrival, in early 2002. The basic principle is to make the right resources available in the right place and at the right time. We constantly focus on this point to avoid waste. As I said, the starting signal has already been given, but this is just the beginning, and there is still a lot to be done. Next, we will further optimize the logistics in the factory, so that every worker has their material in front of them at the right time, in order to be able to carry out their work correctly with the help of digital tools.
The heart of a successful production is and remains the people. If you explain to them why you improve processes and introduce new ones when everyone is going in the same direction, an extremely strong dynamic is created. We are a big team full of different characters who all believe in the same thing, and there's something really cool happening that fascinates me.
I can only advise every teenager not to overthink things and just give it a try.
Lukasz Zuchowski I am a civil engineer and also have a master's degree in economics. In the beginning, I worked in construc:on companies as a construc:on and project manager. Then I worked in a medium-sized company that manufactures steel structures and small semi-trailers. I happened to meet Alain Faymonville at a trade fair in France. A few months later, we met again in Poland when he visited the company I worked for. The same day, Alain invited me to a mee:ng. He informed me that he had decided to buy a property in the industrial area in Goleniów and to set up a new company – Faymonville Polska. He suggested I run the company. A month later, on June 1, 2005, I became the Managing Director of Faymonville Polska and the very first employee at our new loca:on.
Alexander Fickers At the time, I was completing my mechanical engineering degree, specialising in aircraft and airport maintenance. I was interested in mechanics and mechanical engineering from an early age, mainly because of my father's vocation. He was a qualified toolmaker, a technician with heart and soul and a partner in a mechanical engineering company.
In my professional career, I have focussed on various disciplines such as development, maintenance, project management, production and sales, both in the project and product business. They were all related to my technical background, but over time I became more and more interested in sales and management. The focus on technology thus gradually receded into the background but remained a strong supporting backbone for sales and management tasks. Prior to my career at Faymonville, I worked for six years as Head of Operative Business Division at an international mechanical engineering company specialising in aviation. Although I found my work interesting, it lacked something that I found at Faymonville: a family-run company with a strong vision. I also liked the rural, tough but warm mentality of “tackling things”, the short distances and the quick decisions. There is not only a vision here, but also corresponding strategies and actions. Of course, part of this clear vision was for Faymonville to develop from a strong East Belgian company into a global market leader.
I joined Faymonville to take on the challenge of “Cometto”, with a focus on sales. My overall responsibility was extended and I took care of the development and expansion of the entire company in all areas. The challenge fitted perfectly with the experience I brought with me as added value, my career and my creative enthusiasm. When taking on such a position, it is particularly important to take responsibility for your decisions, to find out and determine what is important for the company and where the priorities lie. I am also convinced that strong qualities in communication, motivation, organisation and team leadership are important for the long-term success of a company. There is no “I”, there is only a “we”; this is an important key to success. Respect and reliability are other important values that must be practised, in line with the motto: “We say what we do and we do what we say”.
After the takeover of Cometto in 2017, the main focus was clearly on acquiring orders, as the situation was very critical. It was not easy to convince customers and employees of the “new Cometto”. It was also important to identify strategic and good people in the company, put them in the right positions and get rid of employees who did not believe in the new strategy and mentality. This was followed by the intensification of sales activities and the highlighting of the Cometto brand. Furthermore, the business philosophy was changed, as it was no longer said that the special comes before the standard, but the other way round. We first had to increase production volume before we could start realising special projects. The company had a very high level of technological expertise, but it was now necessary to translate this know-how into the efficient production of high-quality products. This was a very intensive task, since this had never been done before. As at other Faymonville Group sites, investments were also made in production infrastructure and processes here.
Nicola Luxen Actually, I was always a good student, but somehow, I wasn't really cut out for all the sitting still. I wanted to do something, just get involved. At that time, I was already welding as a hobby in my grandfather's workshop and doing manual work. I became aware of Faymonville during the trial weeks 12 years ago, I enjoyed it and started my apprenticeship as a metalworker and chassis manufacturer. I particularly liked the alternation between pre-assembly and final assembly, as it involved completely different work. But I also enjoyed working in Remy's repair workshop. The various trainers and colleagues from back then, with whom I still get on well today, have of course been particularly supportive in my development.
Today I work as a Faymonville salesman for the Austrian market. I also take care of the sale of our vehicles for the timber sector. Honestly, I can't even comprehend today that I'm now actually selling vehicles instead of building them. As already indicated, it was not really my thing to sit in a chair for eight hours, and today it is only possible because I can travel regularly. It was and still is interesting to have gained experience with both working methods. I think the biggest challenge with such a change is to find the courage to tackle something new and different. Of course, the apprenticeship helped me a lot in terms of technical understanding of the product. If you have built something like this yourself, you simply have a completely different relationship to it.
In my opinion, a good salesperson is someone with good listening skills. It is often said that a salesperson is particularly good at talking, but I disagree. You first have to understand what the customer wants. Another skill is to have a healthy and confident attitude, without a trace of arrogance. Of course, a good technical understanding is advantageous in our industry. You must succeed in gaining the customer's trust and give them the feeling that they are your only customer at that moment. Since everything is not always a bed of roses, it is particularly important that you learn to stay calm and look for solutions together. This is also what I enjoy most about my job. What motivates me the most is not only to sell a vehicle to a customer. It's the phone call you receive at a later date when the customer wants to buy a vehicle again, and thinks of Faymonville, and they contact you because you impressed them so much the last time. This is probably the most inspiring thing. In addition to customers, it is mainly our team, i.e., all the other salespeople, who motivate me. We have a really close relationship and hardly a day goes by without us laughing together. To be honest, I think we all have a little screw loose somewhere.
