I work at our production site Velsol France which is located in Western France, close to the Mont Blanc mountain range. Since I was born, I have been used to go skiing or hiking in the mountain. My dad was a ski teacher and my cousin has been the guardian of the Goûter refuge that allows hikers to go to the top of Mont Blanc.
Our company makes blinds and as a maintenance technician, I am in charge of maintaining the machines and repairing them when they break down. We have to ensure 24 hour delivery time on some of the blinds, so it is important that the machines are running properly. I am also responsible for improving our equipment. For our awning blind, we for example automated the drilling and riveting of the handling bar to improve the efficiency and ergonomics. My colleagues are very happy about the solution since it is now less physical to operate. I chose this job because I liked to do electrical improvements at home, and I therefore decided to learn electrotechnics at school. Now in my job, I both need to know the technology behind mechanics, hydraulics, pneumatics and automation and the combination of all these, which interests me because the tasks change every day and there is a lot of diversity in them. Almost all machines have been changed in the company since I started 22 years ago, so I have had to continuously learn to repair them.
I have been to the top of Mont Blanc eight times – four times on hikes and four times on skis
I have a changing work schedule – one week I work in the morning, the next week in the afternoon – which gives me spare time to practice sports. My favourite hobby is to go to the mountains on ski tours with my wife and friends, so I guess I am one of the few who looks forward to winter in France and loves the country for its winters. I have been to the top of Mont Blanc eight times – four times on hikes and four times on skis. Usually, I do it in two days, sleeping in the refuge, but my goal is to make it in one day. The refuge is a quite significant place. It is located at 3835 meters of altitude and in 2012 it was replaced by a new building made with 55 customised VELUX windows. Moreover, it is CO2 neutral and all energy is produced on the site. During this winter, I went skiing around 50 times climbing a total of 110,000 meters. My biggest trip has been the tour of “Les dents Blanches” located at the Swiss and French border. On that trip, I climbed 3200 meters in total with my skis in 8 hours and I of course had the pleasure to ski downhill in very good conditions of snow.
