From trained mechanic to sought-after coating specialist. Some people learn a profession. Others find it. Waldemar Martel is a trained mechanic. The fact that he is now one of KSK’s most sought-after painters is not down to vocational training, but to curiosity, a good eye and the willingness simply to get started. “I tried it once and immediately liked it,” he says. For more than 20 years, he has been refining surfaces at KSK that are too difficult for others. If a component simply will not turn out right, it ends up with him.
From mechanic to industrial painter
Born in Kazakhstan, Waldemar Martel came to Heilbronn in 1995. He learned his first profession as a mechanic in his country of birth. A move to Geilenkirchen brought him to industrial painting, which had always fascinated him. What began as an experiment quickly became a passion. Experienced colleagues and supervisors took him under their wing, showed him the tricks of the trade and allowed him to grow. “I had good teachers,” he says in retrospect. KSK supported him with training courses and gave him the space to develop his talent.
An eye for the perfect surface
Waldemar Martel describes what fascinates him about his work with infectious enthusiasm. “The colour flows, and afterwards you take the part out and look at it.” His favourite colour is clear: deep black. “Then I make it like a mirror.” Particularly challenging parts are his speciality, from high-quality components for renowned manufacturers to tricky special orders. More than once, his results have prompted incredulous amazement and the question: “Where did you learn that?” The answer remains the same – by doing. The 56-year-old says: “Where there is quality, there is the key. Without quality, I have problems – with quality, I am satisfied.”
The man for difficult cases
Today, Waldemar Martel mainly works in Plant 1 wherever standard processes reach their limits: in the manual booth and on special parts that need reworking. If a colour shade is not right or a coating will not work, he is the person to call. “Then I put my own things aside – I have to help.” He knows most of the equipment and halls inside out and steps in wherever his experience is needed. It is precisely this reliability that makes him a colleague people can count on.
Tinkering, dog and family
Waldemar Martel’s enthusiasm for craftsmanship does not end at the plant gate. In his spare time, he enjoys working in his own workshop, tinkering with cars and looking after the family’s vehicles – brakes, oil changes, nothing is a problem. He has been married to his wife since 1996, and their two adult children clearly make him proud. After work, it is all about arriving home: first unwinding, talking to his wife and taking his daughter’s dog out.
The KSK spirit
After more than two decades and a brief spell elsewhere, Waldemar Martel returned to KSK and stayed. What keeps him here is the work he loves and a team where things run almost by themselves when everyone knows what needs to be done. At KSK, it is not the stamp on a certificate that counts, but what someone can do and contribute. That is precisely what the “we” at KSK stands for: a family-owned business with around 260 employees, where career changers become specialists and experience is valued.
Join the KSK team
At KSK, the person behind the process and the talent behind the CV count. If you would like to work in an owner-managed family business with genuine pride in craftsmanship, short decision-making paths and long-term prospects, we look forward to hearing from you. Discover your opportunities at KSK.