30 years ago she sat at the loom in her father’s textile company in order to earn some pocket money. Today Andrea Berlinger (52) is the boss of over 100 employees and is the sixth generation to manage the Berlinger Group in Ganterschwil SG.
Looms are no longer there. The former textile company now manufactures high-tech devices that measure and control the temperature during the transport and storage of vaccines. Berlinger uses it to monitor corona vaccine loads from vaccine manufacturers such as Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna all over the world.
Mistakes could cost lives
“We have a great responsibility,” says Andrea Berlinger when she receives a glance at the company headquarters. If your device shows irregularities in the cooling, the corona vaccine cannot be administered.
The measurements must be precise. Mistakes could cost lives. The demand for Berlinger’s devices is currently high. “The employees in production work overtime,” says the boss.
Andrea Berlinger herself has little knowledge of electrical engineering, as she openly admits. Born in Toggenburg, she completed a commercial apprenticeship after graduating from textile college and has traveled a lot. At the age of 22, she speaks five languages - and decides to join the family’s textile company. At that time the company was in upheaval: the textile industry was in crisis. Father Berlinger recognized this and decided to switch to temperature monitoring systems.
Children, careers, but no management school
The eloquent daughter takes on customer care in the new business area and builds relationships all over the world – especially among vaccine producers, which is paying off today. There was no time for further training. “Learning by doing,” says the mother of two and laughs.
In 2008 she took over the business together with her husband Daniel Schwyter (57). Berlinger’s second mainstay: the production of tamper-proof and counterfeit-proof anti-doping bottles for world sport. The Berlinger Group was embroiled in a tangible scandal in 2016.
The New York Times reported that specialists from the Russian secret service had managed to open the vials. For example, numerous doping urine samples are said to have been manipulated by Russian athletes at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
With everyone by you
The scandal plunged the company into one of the biggest crises in its 150-year history. But she managed the turnaround. Thereupon Andrea Berlinger radically rebuilt the company structure, gave up the operational management and now directs the company as chairwoman of the board of directors.
She still maintains a close exchange with production employees. She is with everyone. A healthy team spirit is important to her, especially at this time. “We can cope with this pandemic better because we have been crisis-tested,” Berlinger is convinced.
At the beginning of the Corona crisis there was a lack of deliveries of individual parts and blanks from Asia. At the same time, the demand for Berlinger’s devices increased rapidly. The boss and her team had to tap into all contacts in order to be able to supply their customers – the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world – with temperature measuring devices. Andrea Berlinger is well aware: “If we don’t produce, corona vaccine deliveries all over the world could come to a standstill.”
“I feel an obligation”
During this time, the production site in Ganterschwil – between Toggenburg cow pastures and side streets – turns out to be the bottleneck in the well-timed production chain. “If we had been producing at different locations, a lot would have been easier and faster,” the entrepreneur sums up.
It does not rule out that the company will open a branch in Asia in the future. Berlinger has already expanded into the USA. “The headquarters and the development department will certainly remain in Switzerland,” she clarifies.
But first of all, she continues to focus on the current challenges. The Berlinger Group plays an important role in coping with the global pandemic. Does the entrepreneur feel more pressure or pride? “Above all, I feel a certain obligation,” says Andrea Berlinger. “We share responsibility for ensuring that the world can return to normal as quickly as possible.” Berlinger and their Toggenburg company want to take this responsibility seriously.