ESG - Environmental Social Governance

Quick-witted Industrial Engineer

Discover how Viktoria Heiermann, a female industrial engineer, breaks gender stereotypes and excels in the tech industry at KLINGER Kempchen

As a woman in technology, Viktoria Heiermann convinces with her specialist knowledge and practical experience in this male-dominated industry. She still wears nail varnish.

"You’d better break a few fingernails before we continue." Viktoria Heiermann does not take comments like this seriously. "I can only laugh it off. My reply is that you don't have to worry about me, I've been to construction sites before," says the 33-year-old industrial engineer who has been working at KLINGER Kempchen for two years. Heiermann only had to deal with the skepticism of her male colleagues at the very beginning, and she was quickly able to convince with her expertise and experience — without bruises or broken fingernails — in order to be accepted as a woman in technology: “I'll continue to go to the plants wearing nail varnish.”

 

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For Heiermann, authenticity is the recipe for success that has enabled her to assert herself in a male-dominated industry for several years now. "When the assemblers on site see that you know what you're talking about because you've been there yourself, then they appreciate that," says the graduate of the Duisburg-Essen University of Applied Sciences where she studied industrial engineering with a focus on mechanical engineering. In the course of her theoretically oriented studies, she specifically chose internships where she was "not too good for anything": sweeping warehouse floors, stuck with doing inventory —

Viktoria Heiermann, Technical sales and application consulting at KLINGER Kempchen

„They weren't always the most exciting tasks, but you learn to stick it out, to develop stamina. Even today I have great respect for the workers operating the machines all day.“

Viktoria Heiermann, Technical sales and application consulting at KLINGER Kempchen

 

Construction Site Consultant

As an employee in technical sales and application consulting at KLINGER Kempchen, it is important to her to be present regularly during shutdowns and plant closures, a place where she appreciates friendly interaction on a first-name basis. Their most important customers include the Shell refinery, BASF, and BAYER. Heiermann covers an area in the Rhineland that she, as a resident of Bergisch Gladbach, knows like the back of her hand. As a fan of Guinness and craft beers, she can recommend the best Irish pub in Cologne too. Her hobbies include motorcycling, going for walks, dancing salsa, coaching, and boxing: "It perfectly matches the cliché of a woman in technology," says Heiermann. She’s also not shy about another cliché, namely that as a child she preferred to play with Lego rather than Barbie. Thanks to a "cool teacher" she found mathematics very easy at school, and the choice of technical studies was right up her street of interests.

 

EX-protected areas are also entered during training courses and consultations
EX-protected areas are also entered during training courses and consultations

It's also nice that the traditional field work she is doing at the moment can easily be combined with her love of driving. Apart from a Renault Twingo, which she tinkered with from time to time when she was young, she lacked the patience to delve deeper into car mechanics, though, and she much prefers to don her coveralls to get a closer personal impression of an industrial plant. Helmet, safety goggles, safety shoes and hearing protection are standard equipment when a customer encounters problems on site. “You learn a lot when you meet the customers. It's very different than just looking at the drawings. The local conditions can often deviate from the plan.” A recommendation that she makes for a particular seal can only work properly if it is also installed correctly. "If you keep an eye on the assemblers on site and train them in how to handle the material correctly, you've gained a lot," says Heiermann.

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KLINGER Kempchen

KLINGER Kempchen is a German member of the KLINGER family. The company develops and manufactures sealings, gaskets and compensators. As a competence leader in the market for static sealing technology, their prominence in service and e-logistics allows KLINGER Kempchen to operate successfully on an international level.

Overcoming self-doubt and advocating for diversity in technical jobs

According to her you need a healthy dose of self confidence in order to be taken seriously by the fitters. “We work in an industry where self-doubt can easily creep in, so I am happy and grateful for feedback. Even if I sometimes get a rap across the knuckles, I'm allowed to make mistakes and try things out — it's fun to work in a setting where I can move freely.” As long as you stay true to yourself you can stay on the ball also as a woman, finds Heiermann. As the only woman in field service at KLINGER Kempchen she has a wish:

Viktoria Heiermann, Technical sales and application consulting at KLINGER Kempchen

„More diversity is needed on the teams, and I think it's cool that when I am in contact with present-day customers I get to deal with women on the executive floors.“

Viktoria Heiermann, Technical sales and application consulting at KLINGER Kempchen

 

What does it take to attract more women to technical jobs? Heiermann: "More communication, learning more from each other, the motivation to be taken by the hand, and also receiving feedback: Is what I'm doing the right thing?" You shouldn't take every word from colleagues to heart: certain comments should be ignored and simply laughed off with a lot of self-confidence. A certain quick-wittedness doesn't hurt either. Heiermann knows how to defend herself—with words, of course, not with boxing gloves.

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Did you know …

  • … women make up only 28 percent of the workforce worldwide in the fields of mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology (MINT)?
  • ... there are special grants and scholarships for women in the STEM subjects? The mystipendium.de website lists around 1,500 funding opportunities for Germany alone.
  • … women are gaining a foothold in the natural sciences (46 percent), but far less in computer science (25 percent), and even less in the technical sectors (16.5 percent)?
  • … the ratio of women to men who graduated in STEM subjects changed only slightly between 2015 and 2019 and is around 25 percent?

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Viktoria was quickly able to convince with her expertise and experience in order to be accepted as a woman in technology.
Viktoria was quickly able to convince with her expertise and experience in order to be accepted as a woman in technology.

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