INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL HOCHSTRASSER

For more than 10 years Michi was part of the MBV team in various roles in our development department and had a significant influence on our MAS-100 air sampler product portfolio. Now he has decided to break new ground – but before we let him go, we look back on these exciting and challenging years in a short interview.

DEAR MICHI, YOU HAVE BEEN WITH MBV FOR 10 YEARS NOW. HOW DID YOUR APPLICATION COME ABOUT AND WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO JOIN US?

I had a few months between the Recruit School and the community service and learned that MBV needed support. A few days and conversations later, I started at MBV. In the following 4-5 months, I could get to know the company, people and activities, and after the 6-month community service assignment, I was very happy to come back in the role of a project manager.

WHEN YOU LOOK BACK ON THIS TIME, WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF – WHAT WERE YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS, YOUR GREATEST PERSONAL SUCCESS?

As a project manager in RnD, I strongly identified with the products and my projects. It makes you proud to see the finished product in real. I have a particular pleasure in the MAS‑100 Regulus, which we launched a bit more than a year ago. With the simultaneous launch of the ISO 17025 accredited calibration laboratory, our competence in the field of adjustment and calibration was once again significantly increased. The quality and the lead time for the customer were noticeably improved. The positive feedback from customers as well as from our service technicians and assembly staff of course makes me very happy.

In my role as team leader, the human aspect has come more to the fore. Supporting a team, seeing the joy of its successes, and sharing them is also a wonderful experience that I have been privileged to have.

THE REGULUS WAS AND IS AT THE SAME TIME A GREAT SUCCESS FOR MBV – YOU LEAVE AN IMPRESSIVE LEGACY! WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE SECRET OF SUCCESS OF MBV PRODUCTS?

For our customers, quality is above all, and MBV products meet precisely this requirement. The very first MAS-100 sold was exchanged for a newer model after about 15 years. The instrument was still fully functional, which corresponds to incredible service life.

MBV has positioned itself exclusively in the air sampling market and has built up its expertise there. As a result, customer needs are identified and met by means of reliable products. It sounds so simple, but it is so difficult.

WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES AND STICKING POINTS IN YOUR DAILY WORK? ...AND WHAT HELPED YOU TO MASTER THEM?

The market in which MBV operates has developed very strongly over the last 10 years. In particular, the demands on instruments and processes in terms of safety, reliability, and traceability have risen considerably. Keeping pace in this market, maintaining the current portfolio, and developing new instruments have certainly been major challenges.

The parallel development of the company has helped. In terms of the number of employees, the processes, competence expansions, continuous improvements, and optimized tools and IT resources. This gave us the right means to master the challenges.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM US THAT YOU WILL TAKE WITH YOU ON YOUR WAY AND THAT YOU WOULD SAY WAS TYPICAL AND UNIQUE FOR MBV?

Typical for MBV is certainly the high-quality standard. This applies to the company's own products and services, the work of internal employees, and also the quality expected in cooperation with external partners. MBV has managed to meet the quality requirements of large pharmaceutical companies and to guarantee them at the highest level, while at the same time maintaining the advantages of a family-run SME such as flexibility, agility, and flat hierarchical levels.

WHAT DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT WORKING / THE WORKING ATMOSPHERE HERE AT MBV IN GENERAL AND WHAT DID YOU LIKE LESS?

Even if it sounds like a phrase – the people, the team spirit in stressful phases, the many joint team events – these are the things that remain most in my memory and have motivated me. MBV is a top team and the culture lived is exceptional.

IS THERE A PARTICULARLY FUNNY, BIZARRE, OR WEIRD INCIDENT THAT YOU WILL CERTAINLY NOT FORGET AND THAT WILL STILL BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE YEARS LATER?

There is certainly more than one experience that I will never forget. I can still remember, for example, when I set up an experiment in the laboratory together with Beat Glauser. As chance would have it, the power went out in the whole municipality just as we were plugging in our experimental setup. Of course, we weren't the ones who caused it, but it was funny when the lights went out everywhere.

FINALLY, A PERSONAL QUESTION: WHAT'S NEXT IN MICHI HOCHSTRASSER'S LIFE? WHERE ARE YOU GOING AND WHAT WILL YOU DO NEXT?

In the coming months, I will, together with my girlfriend, exchange the desk and PC for the power drill and hammer and renovate my former parents' house. It has long been a desire to tackle this project and implement it with our own hands. Every now and then we will schedule breaks in between to escape the construction site and pursue our second passion, traveling. What follows after that is still completely open.