Already boss at 24: Flurin Vincentini heads the development department
"I don't see it as my job to just give commands, but to support the team where there are blockades."
Growing up in Freienstein, the location of the KYBURZ Switzerland company, and enthusiastic about all kinds of vehicles, Flurin worked there during the holidays of his secondary school years, financing his first motorbike and his first car. This was followed by an apprenticeship in electronics at the Metalworkers School in Winterthur. At the end of his apprenticeship he electrified an existing vehicle and was supported by Martin Kyburz. "When I thanked him, he offered me a job in 2010. I was mega happy, because I knew the company and the employees very well."
Boss is the second youngest
At first Flurin was involved in the production. As a service mechanic, he repaired KYBURZ vehicles for customers. "Then someone noticed that I like to write. I wrote service manuals and was also involved in setting up the partner network," says Flurin. At that time there was no development department. Flurin was then given the opportunity to build this up under the leadership of Martin Kyburz together with Dani Weber. Soon there were four of them, and from 2015 Martin Kyburz handed over the development department to Flurin Vicentini, who was 24 years old at the time.
In coaching he acquired the necessary leadership tools. The development department now comprises ten people - from over 20 to over 50 years old. The boss is the second youngest.
Avoid repairs
And this works? "I was wondering, too. But my people are so casual that it works very well. I don't see my job as just giving commands, but to support the team where there are blockades," answers Flurin and continues: "Around 50 percent of our work is model maintenance. The DXP maintenance contract also includes repairs. We make sure that there are as few of them as possible and continue to develop the vehicles further". Problems are identified "in the field", solutions are sought on the computer and with suppliers, and these are then tested on prototypes in the workshop.
And this is done using a test fleet that every developer wants: 6,000 vehicles that are on the road six days a week. What is the attraction of this job? "We are a super cool team in a cool company and do cool things, and I can stand behind our products one hundred percent. Every day is different, in between I also work in the workshop, which I really appreciate," says Flurin. His biggest challenge is to distribute the whole flood of tasks so that everything is completed on time. A lot of organization is required. In his spare time, Flurin likes to steer model airplanes, and there are also regular repairs.
