We introduce you to:

Every day, countless boxes and fully loaded pallets leave our premises en route for their various destinations. Around half of our products are exported. Borders have to be crossed, regulations complied with and customs formalities completed. Raymond Balbach is our export specialist. With his expert knowledge, he sends our shipments to our customers with arrow-like rapidity and precision. This "arrow-like rapidity and precision" also applies during his leisure time. Interested? Find out more in the interview.

Raymond, where does this slogan come from: "arrow-like rapidity and precision"?
From my hobby – playing darts. Recently, I was a member of the Swiss national team at the World Championships in Las Vegas. In 2016, I became World Champion in the singles competition and we won a bronze medal in the doubles. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to successfully defend the title this year. I was 5th in the singles and came 4th in the doubles. However, in view of the very strong competition from the United States and Asia, I am more than satisfied with these results.

How did you discover this hobby?
By chance, actually. As a teenager, I went into a pub where a darts tournament was going on. They were looking for players and I thought: "Why not join in and see how it goes?" I really enjoyed it – and still do today.

How often do you play?
I play in three leagues each week: the Online League, the Swiss League and the German League. In addition, I train every day for at least one hour, and then there are the tournaments. I spend about 12-15 hours per week playing darts.

What are your sporting goals for the future?
I would like to be World Champion again, as I was in 2016. It will be a difficult road, but nothing is impossible. Like the Queen song: "Don't stop me now!".

Thank you for the interview!

MEDIPACK AG currently employs a workforce of more than 180 staff. We develop, produce, pack and dispatch our products and are passionate about providing first-class customer care. MEDIPACK is renowned for state-of-the-art technology and innovation. Our latest development is a digital printing machine that enables Tyvek® lids to be printed and cutted in one operation directly from the roll in four colours. Martina Fortino has been working with this new machine from the very beginning and knows it inside out. They're like an old married couple – they know all each other's quirks and foibles.

Martina, what were you able to contribute to the development of this machine?
Right from the start, I was able to contribute many practical tips and creative ideas. Initially, we could only process Tyvek®. Today, we have progressed and are able to use other materials.

What do you particularly like about your work?
I can use my own initiative a lot and put my ideas into practice. I am very grateful to my managers for that. I love to tinker about and fine tune the machine until all the settings are correct and it is even able to process more complicated materials. At first the machine thinks it's winning, but in the end I win. I'm always really pleased with these victories.

What was the biggest challenge for you?
Originally, I started in the food technology industry. Graphic design was completely foreign to me and I first of all had to familiarize myself with this area. My work colleague taught me a lot and gave me valuable tips.

What additional training did you need for your current work?
I have attended several Adobe courses and successfully completed the "Desktop Publisher" diploma course. I acquired a lot of practical knowledge during my work – "learning by doing" so to speak.

Many thanks for the interview.

MEDIPACK AG now employs more than 180 staff. We develop, manufacture, package, dispatch and support the concerns and wishes of our customers with great commitment. Everything starts in our Development and Design Department. The customer supplies us with his product or drawing and we develop suitable packaging. Nowadays packaging faces requirements which are nearly at the same level as those for the product itself. A lot of know-how and specialist knowledge are required so that medical items can be packed securely, economically and efficiently. Christian Gabriel works for us as a product developer and develops suitable packaging solutions for our customers.

Did you play with Lego a lot when you were a boy?
Yes I played with Lego a lot. The toy box with the Lego bricks took up the whole room. I built an entire city with buildings and streets. The most important thing for me was the police station and that's why there were always a lot of policemen in my city. Unfortunately my works of art were doomed every time my mother wanted to tidy up.

Were there already signs of your career aspirations at this stage?
No I don't think so otherwise I would probably now be a town planner. My favourite subjects at school were mathematics and geometry. In addition, my father was an engineer so I was already familiar with that profession. When I once asked him what he did all day, he replied: "Draw screws." Well - and now I also draw screws.

Did you still learn to draw on a drawing table or only using CAD?
During the first year of my apprenticeship I still had to draw on a drawing table with Indian ink and a cutting wheel. After that we worked much more with CAD.

As a designer are you precise and meticulous?
As a designer accurate work is in your blood. How else could one complete an accurate drawing? The correct drawing actually forms the basis for all the subsequent work.

Many thanks for talking to us!

MEDIPACK AG currently employs a workforce of more than 180 staff. We develop, produce, pack and dispatch our products and are passionate about providing first-class customer care. In order to meet the high quality requirements of our customers, our blisters are manufactured under clean-room conditions. The working day for our production staff therefore starts with putting on their clean-room clothing and entering the clean room through the airlock in accordance with strict hygiene requirements. Manuela Pfaff is an experienced employee who has worked here for years and knows this procedure inside out. In fact, her mother also used to work here and may well have passed on the Medipack "virus" to Manuela in childhood.

What does it feel like working in a clean-room suit?
Wearing a clean-room suit is something you just get used to. Once you put on your overall, you're then really tightly packaged and laced up right to the top. This now feels completely normal to me. It's my work clothing, simply part of my job. When I consider that the packaged medical products will later end up inside a human body, I'm happy that such high hygiene standards are applied. After all, I may well be in the situation at some point when I need this sort of product.

Manuela, what has changed since the time when your mother worked here?
When my mother started at Medipack, around 20 people worked here in Mühlental. Everybody knew everybody else. On Fridays, they would meet for a beer after work and the evening could often be rather lengthy. With the current size of the company, it's unfortunately no longer possible to know all your work colleagues.

Did you work with your mother?
Yes, we worked together for about seven years. But we seldom worked in the same clean room. Our relationship is very good and we were always able to separate our personal and professional lives.

Will your children also work at Medipack?
I have two daughters and a son. And to our great joy, our family has recently had the addition of a wonderful grandchild. I don't think that the Medipack "virus" has been passed on to my children. They all work in a different sector. But, who knows, perhaps my grandson has Medipack "blood" in his veins?

Many thanks for the interview.

More than 170 workers are now employed by the MEDIPACK AG firm. We are passionate about developing, producing, packing, shipping out and looking after the needs of our customers and their quality expectations. Even though our employees undergo constant training and our work processes and hygiene guidelines are subject to ongoing assessment and adjustment, sometimes targets are not always perfectly met. For such cases, Sierk Bluhm is our man. Promptly and effectively he looks after the complaints of customers, never loses his cool, never gives up and is always friendly.

Sierk, can you tell us about something that took a lot of courage for you?
I once had to make a difficult decision about where to do my internship – in Singapore or Dublin? To make matters more difficult, I had just recently gotten engaged and I didn't want to leave my fiancée at home. Was I to choose Dublin, with the option of flying home some weekends? Or Singapore, with the prospect of getting to know new cultures and traditions? I courageously chose Singapore, and I have never regretted it since.

Is there someone special with whom you would like to dine?
With myself – but at 50 years older. I could then ask my counterpart whether he is happy with his life, whether he did everything right, which decisions he regrets, and which were spot on. Perhaps my 50-year-old Me could even give me a few pieces of advice.

Where to you see Medipack in five years?
In five years I envisage the Medipack firm as global company with headquarters in Schaffhausen and more than 250 employees. Perhaps we will have also won our second innovation award by then. After all, we are so innovative and flexible that it wouldn't be surprising.

Sierk, what would you still like to learn?
I would very much like to learn French. It is a marvellous language. It has such a melodious and charming ring to it. I've already learned Latin, and even though it isn't really an international language, it's a good foundation.

MEDIPACK AG currently employs a workforce of more than 160 staff who develop, manufacture, pack and dispatch high-quality products and are passionate about providing first-class customer care. Raphael Stamm works as a technician in the Production department. In our clean rooms we manufacture thermoformed medical blisters by drawing pre-heated plastic film by means of vacuum into a tool from which it is subsequently ejected. Raphael Stamm works as a technician. He mounts the required tool on the relevant machine. This demands high levels of specialist knowledge and a sure feel for the individual machines.

Raphael, do you know every machine inside and out, with all their idiosyncrasies.
Yes, they're like my children and I know most of them inside and out. Each machine has its own characteristics and moods and needs to be treated differently. Every day brings new challenges and you never stop learning. I need to have a feel for the machine and the tool. For instance, a small change in the external temperature can affect the result.

How long have you worked for MEDIPACK?
I've been working here for six years. I trained as a machinery mechanic – in today's world we're called polymechanics. I benefit every day from my ten years' experience in mechanical engineering and am able to use this expertise to maintain and improve quality and efficiency.

Are you a patient person?
Certainly. I have nerves of steel and don't tend to lose my patience. I keep going until the machine is running faultlessly and I love tinkering and trying things out. There is always that feeling of success when everything is finally as it should be.

Raphael, what makes you annoyed?
When a gust of wind blows my newspaper away – that can make me go through the roof. Another thing that depresses and angers me is how animals are sometimes treated by us humans. After all, they are living beings as well.

Thank you for the interview!

MEDIPACK AG now employs more than 160 staff. We develop, manufacture, package, dispatch and support the concerns of our customers with great commitment. Maria Rosato works as the coordinator for final packing in the Contract Packing Department. This is where the package leaflet and patent labels for the products packed in low-germ packaging are placed into the labelled sales packaging and then prepared for sterilisation.

Maria, are you aware how annoying it is that one can never fold up a package leaflet that has been opened out back the same way it was when it was taken out of the package?
The leaflets are given to us when they have already been folded up and we just have to place them with the product into the package. Of course I am aware of the problem from my own experience. Unfortunately I also haven't found a solution to this yet.

What is the special responsibility of a coordinator?
I coordinate the schedules so that the goods are delivered on time to the customer and I make sure the work schedule is implemented. There is documentation for every order. I complete this with the information required and then give it to Production planning. Transport is organised there and the invoice is issued. Naturally, I also help with the final packing.

Where are you going on your next trip?
I am travelling to Toronto in Canada for ten days in June. I have relatives there and a big family celebration is taking place. I have never been to Canada before and thought that it would be a good opportunity to visit the country.

Maria, how would your work colleagues describe you?
In response to this question Maria turns around and looks questioningly at her colleagues. Quick as a flash a few key words are rapidly bandied about: likable, affable, warm-hearted, stress-resistant, always in a good mood, she does a good job. It's noticeable that there is a pleasant working atmosphere and everyone gets on well with and appreciates each other – certainly also to the credit of Maria Rosato.

Many thanks for talking to us!

MEDIPACK AG now employs over 150 staff. We develop, produce, package, dispatch and support the concerns of our customers with great commitment. What does the person with the pleasant voice on the telephone look like? We would like to introduce
our good fairy, Ms Beatrix Möckli, to you. Every day she receives orders by telephone or in writing, helps our customers with their inquiries and tries to satisfy our customers' wishes with great dedication and patience, always in line with the slogan: Anything impossible will be dealt with immediately, miracles take a bit longer!

Beatrix, how would you describe yourself as a person? Give me five appropriate adjectives.
Well – it's always difficult to describe yourself. I would list the follow characteristics: honest, helpful, friendly, with a sense of humour and always in a good mood. Apart from that I enjoy laughing and am always ready for a bit of fun.

Are you a patient person? You didn't list this characteristic.
It takes a lot for my patience to run out but every now and then I am tested a bit in this respect. There are four of us sitting in a room and our office is the linchpin for exports and shipments. There is often a lot going on and one needs strong nerves and a thick skin.

How long have you been working at MEDIPACK AG?
For five years and I am really enjoying it. The work is extremely interesting and varied. I value the customer contact and the collaboration within the team is excellent. For me the highlights of the year are the trade fairs. I am allowed to attend in Stuttgart at Medtec and in Düsseldorf at Compamed.

Beatrix, when did you need a lot of courage?
That was when I had to confess to my parents that I wanted to leave home. I had a couple of sleepless nights over that. But naturally they understood and I could pack my suitcases with a clear conscience.

With whom would you particularly like to have a meal.
Well Mario Adorf comes into my head quite spontaneously. I am fascinated by him. He is an interesting man and somehow reminds me of my father.

Many thanks for our conversation!