Jochen Faber

Whatever your personal opinion on Westerns, it’s fair to say that part of their success is down to the life lessons given by screen legends like John Wayne as they ride off into the sunset. ‘Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.’ Jochen Faber has a soft spot for lines like this from Hollywood’s greatest ever cowboy. The 59-year-old managing director, operations at Liebherr-Aerospace in Saline, Michigan (USA), admires the pioneering spirit that John Wayne embodies. Perhaps that’s why his own biography is characterised by new beginnings and a curiosity about what lies beyond the horizon.

‘Fortunately, my journey led me to Liebherr over 40 years ago. I really wanted to get out into the world – and I made it,’ Jochen reflects. In 1983, he began his apprenticeship as a mechanic at Liebherr in Lindenberg (Germany). The keen cyclist actually wanted to start an apprenticeship as a bike mechanic with a former motorbike world champion he admired. But nothing came of it. So off to Lindenberg he went. ‘When I asked in the job interview if there was any possibility of going abroad for Liebherr, they looked at me in astonishment.’ Jochen’s father worked for many years as an engineer on a merchant ship. ‘I must have inherited the wanderlust gene from him’.

After completing his apprenticeship, he overheard someone in the canteen saying that two jobs were available at the then Liebherr partner in Toulouse (France). Jochen was keen to go. And so he went! In February 1987, he travelled by motorbike to the south of France with a colleague. The six-month commitment that he had originally planned turned into two years. ‘It was a great experience,’ he says.

When he returned to Germany and was faced with the question of whether to go to university or go to America for Liebherr, the answer seemed obvious. But the German Armed Forces had something else in mind. Although Jochen had been classified only as partially fit for military service due to his colour blindness, he was expected to take up his compulsory post right away – ironically at the very same time that he had heard of an extremely attractive job prospect in Saline, not far from Detroit, Michigan. Liebherr-Aerospace was looking for a service and aircraft maintenance mechanic there in 1989, as Airbus was then coming to the US with the A320.

Jochen wrote long letters at the time, trying to convince the Forces’ district recruiting office that taking up this job in the States would ultimately serve Germany’s interests. Thankfully, his efforts paid off. When he arrived in Saline with a duffel bag in one hand and a motorbike helmet in the other, he had no idea that this job would eventually become his life’s work.

The job was all-encompassing and has evolved over the years, starting as a technical role and moving to quality, customer service, and sales and marketing, right through to management. ‘I’ve always welcomed these changes – they’ve fuelled my ambition. My two-year contract is now 35 years old.’

In these three-plus decades, Liebherr-Aerospace in Saline has grown from a one-man operation to 330 employees. He found that he simply ‘grew into’ the role of managing director. ‘Nobody ever asked about degrees or further training in those days. It was always just about doing the job to the best of your ability and ensuring the highest levels of customer satisfaction, something that’s best achieved in a strong, motivated team.’ As managing director, Jochen is directly responsible for 240 employees who perform around 25,000 repairs per year.

His experience-based expertise and leadership was and still is in demand at Liebherr, even beyond the borders of the USA. Between 2008 and 2016, he was head of industrial development for the repair centres. His tasks included transferring the successful service and repair centre model from Saline to Asia and helping to grow locations in Shanghai and Singapore. ‘I was at an advantage because I was familiar with both products – the mechanical and air-conditioning systems from Toulouse and the hydraulics and flight control systems from Lindenberg. So I got to see even more of the world through the company.’

Given his own experience, he isn’t at all surprised that Liebherr becomes a life-long commitment for many employees. ‘Of the 15 apprentices who started their training with me in Lindenberg, seven are still with the company,’ he says. In the USA, such close ties to a company are somewhat unusual. ‘But the fact that people here are also keen to stay with Liebherr for much longer is a real advantage when we have such a shortage of skilled labour.’

For Jochen, role models play a significant part in this: ‘I’ve personally worked for and with three generations of the Liebherr family.’ He still remembers how Hans Liebherr once drove to Lindenberg in his Mercedes to visit the company. The metaphorical red carpet was rolled out and the senior management team was lined up to greet him, which was clearly not in his interest. ‘He just wanted to immerse himself in everyday life. To be with “his” people. That still intrigues me to this day.’ He experiences this special Liebherr spirit with the subsequent generations, too. ‘At Liebherr, leadership is always about the cause, about the company and our joint success.’

A ‘hands-on’ work ethic that strives for this outcome is something he likes to see. ‘For many years, tinkerers and mechanics have found a home here in Saline. If someone comes to us with calluses on their hands and grease under their fingernails, we’ll definitely take a closer look at them,’ Jochen says revealingly. ‘With the right training and cross-training, anyone who has a knack for mechanical tasks can usually advance in our company down the line,’ is his philosophy. At the same time, he also wants Liebherr-Aerospace to further improve the quality of training at the US subsidiary, modelled on the dual study system established in Germany. ‘We’re already having intensive talks with the state and local educational institutions,’ he explains.

Is the 59-year-old at all worried about the future? Not in the least. ‘We already have our sights firmly set on the next generation of aircraft: it will be greener, more efficient and more comfortable.’

And so, even after four decades, Jochen Faber is still not Liebherr-weary. ‘I’m definitely planning to reach my 45th anniversary. Then we’ll see.’ Whenever he eventually hands over his life’s work and rides off into the sunset like John Wayne for the big finale, he’s more likely to be in the saddle of a motorbike or mountain bike. And he’ll no doubt want to see what lies beyond the next horizon. Preferably in the land of opportunity, which has become his home.