Today: Chris Meyer, Responsible for gravity diecasting, low-pressure diecasting
His motto: "You have to try the impossible to achieve the possible" - Hermann Hesse
Chris, you successfully passed your apprenticeship with us as an EFZ cast technologist. Tell us about your apprenticeship.
The apprenticeship was very varied and included many interesting areas of expertise. The apprenticeship at Aluminium Laufen was great and I was very well supervised by my instructor. The specific projects that I helped to implement were particularly great, such as the development of a prototype for a designer chair armrest. Or the great time during vocational school at Bühler AG in eastern Switzerland: there we practised our theoretical knowledge in practice on various machines. We had good teachers with an enormous amount of specialist knowledge. Then during my apprenticeship, I had the opportunity to do two interesting internships at Osterwalder AG and Metalyss AG.
I highly recommend anyone who is interested in technical professions to do an apprenticeship as a cast technologist or as a cast moulder. You get excellent technical training. I liked it very much and it was very useful career-wise.
What do you do in your free time?
I often go biking, mostly in the region, for example to the "Eggflue" or the "Challhöchi". And I like hiking very much. Last year on 1 August, for example, we were on the "Cima della Trossa" in Ticino. At 1869 m, it's not very high, but it's pretty steep.
What is your greatest personal success, what are you particularly proud of?I am proud of my professional career so far. With ambition, discipline and a lot of passion for the job, I have constantly developed after my basic training and am now responsible for the gravity diecasting and low-pressure diecasting department. We're a great team, we have a great working atmosphere, we help each other and we get on so well - I really enjoy that.
And a private success is the 100 km march I completed a year ago. That happened like that: My father had done a 100 km march as a 20-year-old and used to tell me about it all the time. And then last year it was time: a good friend and I completed the 100 km in 19 hours, including breaks. My father followed the entire route via WhatsApp during the whole time. My father was extremely proud. And of course I was too, the feeling of having made it was overwhelming. A next march I have already planned.
If you could meet one famous person for dinner: Who would it be?
I don't have to think long: Sebastian Vettel, the Formula 1 racing driver. I like his personality, his appearance, his way of thinking and his manner. Formula 1 is a sport at the highest level and pure adrenaline ...
Final question: How "digital" are you on the road and what is your favourite app? I do not use my mobile phone much, I'm not always online. I often use Strava, an app for various sports, for biking and hiking.
Chris Meyer apprenticed with us from 2009 to 2013 as an EFZ cast technologist, specialising in permanent moulds. We were delighted when he returned to us after some time away from Aluminium Laufen AG. Today Chris is responsible for the gravity diecasting and low-pressure diecasting department and manages 13 employees.
In gravity diecasting, the reusable moulds are poured by hand with molten aluminium. This process requires a lot of experience and craftsmanship. In the low-pressure diecasting department, we process around 600 tonnes of aluminium annually in the semi-automatic casting process with our six low-pressure casting plants. Depending on the alloy, the ready-to-assemble cast components are used in mechanical engineering, vehicle construction, robot construction, for high-voltage switches and much more.
+41 61 775 22 22
info@aluminium-laufen.com