“Cars and motorbikes are my great passion,” says Chris. “I’m always tinkering around with something,” he confesses. He therefore likes to spend time with his mates in his own workshop. Equipped with everything a handyman could need, the friends are currently working on reconditioning a discarded high-performance V8 twin-turbo engine. “Admittedly, I’ve already had quite a bit of experience with learning by doing, but even so, THIS is a huge challenge, and one where I welcome the know-how of experienced mechanics,” he admits.
Chris has an enquiring mind and likes to get to the bottom of things. “I want to know how things work, am not afraid to roll my sleeves up, and always try to achieve the best possible results, no matter how difficult that might be.”
Chris’s home is in Ingolstadt. He got his first motorbike – and the tool kit to go with it – when he was 16. Doing an apprenticeship as a bike mechanic after secondary school would have been the obvious choice, but after doing an internship, he decided not to. “I wanted my hobby to remain a hobby, and professionally I was much more interested in the creative world,” explains Chris.
Once one of his friends had aroused his interest in the job profile of a media designer, it wasn’t long before he secured an apprenticeship in this field. However, he encountered an insurmountable obstacle in his first training company: the company went bankrupt, and it was necessary to re-assess his future career. Giving up was out of the question for Chris.
On the contrary, this is what really fired his motivation. “I had had a look around to see what kind of openings there are in the creative field, and definitely wanted to combine my technical interests with the creativity of CGI (Computer Generated Imagery).”
Chris enrolled on digital film production course at a private university in Munich, which he successfully completed with a Bachelor of Arts degree. “Everything interests me. From the basics of a media production to the interplay of camera, light and tone,” he says, describing what motivates him. “I have been totally hooked ever since.”
It was a matter of course for him to earn his own living while he was studying. Chris had part-time jobs as a fashion consultant and barman in bars and clubs in and around Ingolstadt. Looking back, he regards his stint as a barman as time at the “university of life”. “When it comes to teamwork, I still find myself falling back on the experience I gained at that time, inspiring people with different characters, simply listening to them, or providing advice and assistance. This helps me in my current managerial position.”
After his degree, Chris was on the lookout for a challenge: something that would enable him to demonstrate his skills and ideas, where his achievements would be important for the company, and where he could make an impression. “I was absolutely blown away by what Feynsinn (an EDAG brand) does in the field of visualisation, and by the opportunities the company offers – for me, it was the ideal way of combining my two great passions – motor vehicles and the 3D world.” In 2012, he joined EDAG in Ingolstadt as a highly motivated 3D simulation developer. My workshop experience and ability to think in technical terms have been a great help when it comes to understanding the visualisation of ambitious customer projects.
“At Feynsinn and EDAG Production Solutions, we are today able to support the entire product development process, using software that we adapt and design to our specific requirements,” he explains. “We deal with the digital factory, for instance, make it possible to virtually inspect future production plants, and create vehicle configurators on the basis of CAD data, by means of which the end customers of renowned vehicle manufacturers can put together their own vehicles – along with all possible equipment options – online, and even use the latest VR technology to experience them interactively.”
In the meantime, Chris has now been a project leader for visualisation projects for several years, and also provides marketing and sales support. Creative 3D artists and software engineers work hand in hand with technicians and engineers in his projects. This is important to him. “Having flat hierarchies enables us to be as agile and innovative in our work as a startup. At the same time, we have the strong backing of our parent company EDAG, and this gives us a sense of security.”
Feynsinn has managed to retain the elements of flexibility and creativity in its work, and to create an environment in which everyone can contribute their ideas. “Working with all these talented and enthusiastic colleagues, and seeing that we really do create positive added value for our customers is great fun,” notes Chris.
“I have been involved in many ingenious projects – either as an artist or a project leader. But one of my absolute favourites was the VR Paintshop with the game controller in the paint sprayer.” His team converted a paint sprayer into a game board to help train auto body painter apprentices. This opened up previously unthought of opportunities for the apprentices. After putting on VR glasses, the user finds himself in a 360-degree paint spraying booth, where he can paint bodywork and other components professionally – with haptic feedback conveyed by the paint spray gun. “The Paintshop transports you into a completely realistic painting process including quality feedback – and yet it is ‘only’ virtual,” explains Chris. BMW is already successfully using the VR shop in its plant in Mexico.
No matter how enthusiastic Chris and his teams might be about gaming, simulations, augmented and virtual reality, when it comes to driving motorbikes and cars he remains true to the real experience, and on the racetrack prefers to leave the digital world where it belongs – in the office.
