Sonja Schmidt
Vice President Gehring L. P.
» Age: 41
» Education: Dipl. Technical Business Administration
» With Gehring since: 2015
» Quote: „ If life gives you lemons, … make lemonade”
My Story
What is My BackGround?
After getting my degree, I worked in the automotive industry for most of my career. I was employed as a controller within the tier 1 automotive industry. In 2010, I continued working in Controlling but moved to the machine tooling industry. This is when I got in contact with Gehring through people I worked with before. It seems the machine tooling world is quite small.
Why Work as Vice PResident for Gehring?
It is an interesting niche market. Projects are diverse and complex. Machine tooling projects are challenging and Hands on experience is what I always appreciated. The German says “Klein aber Fein”. That means small but fine. That perfectly matches Gehring’s nature. Gehring may be a smaller company but working there is as demanding as working for a large corporation. Working in a niche market has a certain charm to it and I like it.
What are My Tasks at Gehring?
I oversee the Finances, Human Resources and IT. I work closely with the management team of Gehring L.P. in Farmington Hills and I am also reporting to the executive team in Germany.
What is unique about gehring?
I would begin with project diversity. This applies especially to Gehring and its custom-made machines. There are opportunities in all aspects. Whether it’s self-improvement or self-realization - I have the freedom to positively impact the business operations and the working environment. If you don’t like something - change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain. That is the way my colleagues solve everyday challenges.
Why do I like to work for Gehring?
What I cherish the most about Gehring are its employees. I appreciate the team and the opportunity to work with talented and passionate colleagues. I guess, the friendly and cooperative nature of my colleagues is a strong reason for me to come to Gehring. Other than that, I like the pace of Gehring, we are moving fast and we are striving for continuous improvements, internally and of course towards our customers.