Our new series Beretta Holding Trailblazers aims at promoting our group experts and internal talents through colleagues’ interviews. This month, we met with Rainer, Head of Optics Production and Optics Processing at Steiner Optics GmbH.

When have you joined the company?  
September 1983

Pick 3 words to describe your day.
Planning - organization - support

What motivates you to have spent 40 years with this company, and how has your role evolved over that time?
I turned my childhood hobbies, optics and astronomy, into a career. Through initiative, commitment, and continuous training, I was repeatedly assigned interesting and responsible tasks. Even after 40 years, I still enjoy working for this company.

Can you share some key milestones or achievements that stand out from your long tenure here?
My career path shows my own growth, starting with vocational training to become a precision optician, then my master's examination and training to become a manager for the precision optician profession, and a safety specialist. I then got appointed deputy technical manager, head of quality assurance, and finally Head of Production Optics. A significant enrichment for me has been the many stays abroad, such as in China and India, to secure and strengthen the Bayreuth location.

How has the industry and the company itself changed during your time?
Over my many years of work, the company, with its regional production in Bayreuth, has evolved and seamlessly integrated into the globalization of markets. An important change factor is the current transition from purely optical devices to optoelectronics—an exciting technical development involving optics, electronics, software, and apps. Business relationships, solidarity with other companies, integration into Beretta Holding, and the dedication of long-standing employees ensure job security at Steiner Optics in Bayreuth.

Looking back over 40 years, what is the most valuable lesson you've learned?
Never be satisfied with the current situation; always question what can be done better in the future. An old but true saying: “Standing still is going backward.” Don't give up, even if things aren't going well; there will be highs again. Evaluate your work from the customer’s perspective and question yourself: is the way I do it good enough?

This or that game. Spontaneously, choose between the options below: 
Coffee or tea? Coffee!
Cats or dogs? Cats!
Hunting or fishing? Fishing!
Beach vacation or mountain getaway? Both
Pizza or burgers? Pizza!

Find out more about Steiner Optics.