Committed to progress
65 Years of stoba: How the Future Takes Shape
stoba’s 65-year history stands for experience, development, and change. At the same time, stoba is celebrating 40 years of training at its Backnang location this year.
However, these anniversaries are not meant to focus on the past, but rather on the question of how the future takes shape, where it becomes tangible in everyday work, and who shapes it. After all, stoba is made up of people who continue to develop the company day by day.
These perspectives come to light in conversations between executives, apprentices, and employees. They reveal what makes stoba special—today and, above all, in the future.
Learning Brings People Together—Across Generations and Continents
The fact that learning plays a central role at stoba is a recurring theme in all the conversations. For Nora Baumann, a second-year industrial business administration apprentice in Backnang, this goes without saying: “When I think of stoba, the first thing that comes to mind is learning.”
For her, stoba is a place where knowledge doesn’t end with training, but rather grows steadily through experience, exchange, and collaboration with colleagues from different departments.
Dr. Shiqing Fang, Managing Director at the Yantai location, shares this view: “stoba gives employees the chance to develop both their skills and themselves.” Career paths often emerge in a practical way—through trial and error, taking on responsibility, and learning together. “Learning by doing isn’t just a buzzword for us—it’s a reality.”
What Sets stoba Apart: Diversity, Exchange, and Appreciation
Yannis Melinat (Sales & Logistics, Weinstadt), Harald Barth (Technology & Innovation, Charleston), and Simon Mohr (Project Management, Memmingen) pick up on the topic of learning. From different perspectives, they describe what stoba means to them.
Harald Barth sums up his view of stoba in three words: “Challenges, appreciation, and success.” The other two add that, for them, the variety of tasks, continuous professional development, and cross-locationand cross-departmental collaboration play aparticularlyimportant role.
“Mutual appreciation is also very important to me,” says Simon Mohr. This is an aspect that Shiqing Fang also emphasizes: “We need respect for people and for the work of others. When we truly understand that, many conflicts resolve themselves.”
Where the Future Becomes Tangible: Training and International Collaboration
At stoba, “the future” isn’t just a buzzword—it’s something you can see in action in many areas. Yannis Melinat, whose journey at stoba also began with an apprenticeship, emphasizes: “For me, apprenticeships are definitely part of that.”
Harald Barth agrees: “We need well-trained, highly motivated employees whom we must integrate in order to make progress in the long term.” Conversations with Nora Baumann and Julian Walton—a third-year mechatronics apprentice in Backnang—show that many young employees already possess this very motivation. Both want to continue developing their skills, take on responsibility, and play an active role in shaping the future.
Julian’s experience at the Small Dole site illustrates the role that international exchange plays in this. For him, a two-week stay in England was a special experience: “That was by far the highlight of my time at stoba so far. I saw and learned a lot—and in the end, we even adopted a few processes for Backnang.”
Markus Krizsmann, Managing Director at the Small Dole site, sees this as an important contribution to the future: “Your training program in Backnang is really strong. It’s precisely this combination of solid training and international exchange that helps us move forward.”
The 40th anniversary of the training department in Backnang shows just how long stoba has been putting this philosophy into practice.
Projects and Technologies as Building Blocks for the Future
At the same time, everyone agrees that the future is reflected in the numerous projects and technologies that stoba is working on and with. These include, for example, semiconductor applications and electrolysers. But AI, robotics, and automation are also important at stoba—both in its own manufacturing and in its role as a technology partner for other companies.
For Markus Kriszmann, one thing is clear: automation and technology create freedom and enable value-adding work. “And that’s what will matter in the future.”
A Unifying Conclusion
What becomes clear from all these discussions is that markets are changing and demands are rising. This makes it all the more important to have the courage to embrace change, to pursue technological advancement, to foster exchange between generations and locations, and to share a common commitment to continuously improving things.
This is how stoba shapes the future—every day.