As Digitel commemorates a significant milestone—Gabriel Roos’s 19-year anniversary with the company—we took the opportunity to delve into his journey that encapsulates growth, challenges, and memorable experiences. As the Production Manager and Purchasing Manager for raw materials, Gabriel has been instrumental in shaping Digitel’s production landscape. Here, he shares insights from his long-standing career.
Reflecting on the Past
What experiences do you particularly remembered in your 19 years at Digitel? Can you share a specific moment that stands out?
Gabriel: One notable experience involved an order for multiple rain samplers about 10 to 15 years ago. The samplers were mostly assembled, but we had a hard time adjusting the bottle wheels for the 32 x 0.25l bottle version. This was because the design for the caps that close the bottles off was very narrow. Whenever the angle of the pre-assembled arms wasn’t perfectly aligned, the wheel would get stuck or the lid wouldn’t close completely.
Additionally, the bearing of the axis needed reworking whenever there was too much friction, and whenever we disassembled to fix the problems, the adjusting screw had made another scratch mark on the shaft, since both were of the same material and hardness. Regula and I spent about half the Easter holiday just on adjusting the bottle wheels for the 32-bottle version. In the end, we completed the task and delivered the order on time, but it was really stressful and with substantial overtime.
A few years later, we undertook a comprehensive redesign of that part of the rain sampler. We transitioned to using hardened, rust-free steel for the lid shafts and the lids are noticeably wider, which allows for easier positioning. Moreover, we simplified the production of parts and overhauled the entire drive mechanism. This refinement reduced the assembly and adjustment time to just one hour per sampler.
Participating in this process and witnessing the significant enhancement in quality and usability made me really proud. What stays in my mind, is that there is a constant need to challenge and improve existing designs to yield a better product for assembly, maintenance, and the end-user experience.
Career Growth
How have you seen your role evolve over the years? What new skills or knowledge have you gained during your time here?
Gabriel: After having finished school, I wanted to study chemistry, but university life was not for me. I began my career as an unskilled worker at Digitel and later got the opportunity to make an apprenticeship as polymechanic in the development and production department. This experience allowed me to learn about roughly every part of mechanical machine components that Digitel uses in producing high volume samplers and rain samplers.
Following the departure of our former production manager, I stepped into that role. I learned about qualities of raw materials and where best to acquire those from our different suppliers. I learned about coatings for aluminium and their best usage. I also made my way through the planning of different assembly steps and preparing assembly groups for other workers.
Later, I contributed to the development of our low volume samplers, a process that required multiple iterations and design changes until we achieved the final product. My contributions included both design and fabrication of many parts.
In my current position, I supply raw materials and tasks to our production department, prepare the tasks for different assembly steps and supervise the workshop. Also, whenever there is a complex product, which we produce approximately every 10 years, that’s on me to prepare and assemble.
Future Aspirations
What excites you most about the future at Digitel? Are there any particular developments or projects you would like to be involved in?
Gabriel: I’m going to take a little detour on that one. Digitel Elektronik began as a family business and continues to operate as such. Mr. Muther, the founder and owner of Digitel, has two daughters, Barbara and Regula, who did some on and off helping inside the business during their education.
Regula, the younger daughter, made the decision to carry on the family business and pursued a masters degree in mechanical engineering. Subsequently, she joined Digitel as a Managing Director. While Barbara initially focused on facility management later returned to Digitel as part of the management team.
My initial entry into Digitel was due to Regula, who is my girlfriend since 2001. We were both 17 at the time. Whenever I was at her home, Digitel was a big part of everyday discussions during meals and other occasions, which ignited my interest in the company. After realizing that university was not for me, Mr. Muther graciously offered me a position to help me make ends meet. I always liked the mixture of working with a computer and my own hands, so this role was a perfect fit for me. I am immensely grateful for the trust and understanding Mr. Muther put on me over all this time together.
Regula and I now have two daughters, aged 7 and 8. We both work part-time (80%) and watch all of them grow, our kids as persons and Digitel as a business. While it remains to be seen whether our children will become involved in the family business, their current aspirations reflect diverse interests—art and interior design for our oldest daughter, and a desire to become a veterinarian or marine biologist for our youngest one. We will see how that plays out, maybe we can convince them later on. 😊
Looking ahead, we are exploring possibilities for improving workshop climatization in the production area to enhance workplace well-being. Additionally, we face the challenge of scaling up production in response to increased demand for the DPA-14 sampler. We are also preparing to welcome an apprentice for mechanical engineering after the summer, ensuring a seamless transition as we aim to educate the next generation of talent.
A Grateful Reflection
Anything else that you would like to share with us?
Gabriel: I still enjoy working for Digitel after all this time for multiple reasons:
- I have a lot of freedom in decision making from a mechanical standpoint
- Digitel has really flexible work hours, which allows for smooth transitions when the kids come home from school.👨👩👧👧
- Although my wife is also my boss, we maintain a positive working relationship and use our individual strengths 🙌to synergize
- My job is really interesting and varied🤩, since I can work on whatever is most needed at the moment: helping out on assembling a module, teaching new assembling steps, discussing and helping optimize milling / turning strategies with the mechanics, organizing stuff for whatever step is going on at the production level or assembly or setting up a CNC machine on my own for prototyping or production.
As Gabriel continues his journey at Digitel, we are excited to see how his aspirations for the future come to fruition. Here’s to many more successful years ahead for Gabriel and the Digitel team!
