Mixing possible - A visit to ystral

Many parts for the machines are milled in-house at ystral.

It's a bit like making pancakes: When mixing flour, eggs and milk, the order and dosage is important to ensure the batter doesn't lump. If you want to make sure it works perfectly, don't mix the ingredients by hand, but with a food processor. The machines and systems from ystral in Ballrechten-Dottingen are based on this principle. Only the quantities and, above all, the ingredients are different. In the test centre, bags full of titanium dioxide, a white pigment that gives wall paint its opacity, are stacked on a pallet. Next to it are blue barrels full of water and additives. "This powder has to be mixed with the liquid. That's what we do with our machines," says David Manke, a partner in uno's process engineering department, pointing to a ystral "Conti - TDS". This mixing and dosing machine is the centrepiece of many ystral systems. Over the next few days, ystral process engineers will be using the one in the company's test centre to test together with a potential customer how the system should look so that it mixes the paint as desired. According to Manke, the test centre is one of the guarantors of the company's success. "Once you've been here, you become a customer," says the 60-year-old. In 2005, he and his brothers Peter (55) and George (57) took over the shares in the company that their parents had previously run. "At the time, we thought about whether the three of us could do it," reports David Manke. "We quickly agreed that we could make it work if everyone had their own area. In line with their strengths and inclinations." George Manke remained in internal sales, where he had started as an apprentice in the 1980s. A management position was not his cup of tea. And Peter, who had been responsible for product standardisation in the technology department, among other things, replaced David at the top of the company at his request so that he could work in process engineering, on the machines and with customers. "I'm more of a practitioner," says the mechanical engineering graduate. The three owners have been setting the course again for a few years now: Peter Manke recently stepped down from the operational management of the company and is assisting the new management team in an advisory capacity, as is David Manke. Karl Prem (55) has been responsible for commercial management and operations for the past five years. He has been supported by Dominik Seeger (45) as Head of Sales since the summer. The position of Technical Director is still vacant. Even though they have left the front row: The three brothers are not thinking about quitting just yet. On the contrary: "We're still having fun," says David Manke. "But our goal is a smooth transition." It's important not to miss the right moment. You can tell from the interview that the process is working well: Dominik Seeger and David Manke are on familiar terms with each other and the other employees. The owner repeatedly asks the Head of Sales which business figures can be communicated. They have known each other for a long time. Seeger completed an apprenticeship at the company 23 years ago and returned 13 years ago. And although not quite as close as the Mankes, who often did their homework in their mother's office, Seeger also grew up with ystral. After all, his father Hanspeter, who spent a large part of his working life here, is regarded as the inventor of "Conti - TDS" and often reported from the company at the lunch table at home, as his son recalls.