Gerald Gruber, a young engineer at agricultural machinery manufacturer Pöttinger, won the National Championship "Skills Austria 2010". The Austrian qualifying stage for the worldskills London 2011 competition took place in Salzburg mid November. Two young engineers from Pöttinger took part in the competition and were highly successful: in mechanical engineering CADD (computer-aided design and draft), Lea Fraungruber reached 10th place - an excellent result. The Austrian Championship title went to Gerald Gruber. "I learned a great deal. I was able to prove my technical skills in three different projects." explained the new national champion.

The Austrian Champion's route to success
In September 2004 the 21-year-old Gerald Gruber started his apprenticeship at Pöttinger as a design engineer. He started in the mower design department and then his curriculum moved him to tool design in February 2007. He has been working in this department since he completed his apprenticeship. The employees are the most important capital at Pöttinger and are supported accordingly: the enthusiastic engineer got the opportunity to take part in the national Skills Austria competition and won. He has a thirst for knowledge and also attends evening school to learn about automation technology. Alongside school and work he is already training for worldskills London 2011, which takes place next October. There, Gerald Gruber will prove his skills once more - against competitors from 50 nations. "During the Austrian national championships we were put under a lot of pressure so that we would be well prepared for the world championship", explains the Pöttinger employee on his preparations and his goal of becoming world champion.

Klaus Pöttinger (right) with Austrian Champion Gerald Gruber (centre) and Lea Fraungruber (left)

Pure Performance: technology at Pöttinger
"With advanced and innovative ag-tech machinery Pöttinger makes a valuable contribution towards increasing productivity in agriculture. The development of new products is based on involving motivated and dedicated employees in the development process from the very beginning. The engineers drive development projects forward from the original idea through to series production and therefore play a key role throughout the entire process of producing a machine. Challenging problems and innovative methods for increasing productivity are analysed and solved as a team (design, testing, prototyping, mechatronics, production planning, simulation, controlling). We support the development of innovative solutions for practical applications and the ongoing knowledge advantage enjoyed by our employees", says Managing Director Klaus Pöttinger as he congratulates the successful young engineers.

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