Skills and culture
Alessandro Simeoni and Antonio Rinaldi are the first two graduates of Geberit’s programme for promoting young talents in production. Here, they learn more about production processes, teamwork and cultural differences.
Operations Development Programme (ODP)
The ODP at Geberit offers professionals with an engineering or technical background an opportunity to take on management tasks and advance their careers.
What motivated you to sign up for the Operations Development Programme?
Alessandro Simeoni: It perfectly complements my mechanical engineering degree.
Antonio Rinaldi: It was the same for me. I was intrigued by the idea of getting to know different plants and cultures.
Where did you work?
Alessandro Simeoni: I worked as a production system engineer in Villadose in Italy, and in Pfullendorf and Haldensleben in Germany. I worked on projects to improve productivity and to automate and optimise injection moulding and blow moulding processes.
Antonio Rinaldi: Like Alessandro, I worked as a production system engineer for two years in Ekenäs, Finland, and in Carregado, Portugal. My focus was on process optimisation in ceramic production.
What did you learn?
Alessandro Simeoni: I learned about long-term commitment, flexibility and how to get a team to work together towards a common goal. I also learned about project management and the Geberit Production System.
Antonio Rinaldi: Soft skills above all: I can communicate better, deal with conflicts and I am more resilient overall. I learned to lead different teams and work with them.
What had the biggest impact on you?
Alessandro Simeoni: Every location has its own special features and history. What connects them are shared values.
Antonio Rinaldi: The work and the cultural differences. In Finland, I experienced flat hierarchies and a strong commitment to achieving good results. In Portugal, I was inspired by an imaginative team with an eye on growth and remaining competitive.
Who would you recommend the ODP to?
Alessandro Simeoni: To highly motivated engineers who want to further develop their technical skills, who are not afraid of questioning things and want to learn from others.
Antonio Rinaldi: I recommend it to young professionals who want to pursue a complex and challenging career path.