Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. With, since 1959 Almega has been a strong partner for individual metal solutions in plant and apparatus construction. In which industries are you specifically active?

Joachim With: We support our customers with a very broad range of services in metal processing, which includes laser cutting, bending, welding, engraving, and powder coating, all the way to mechanical processing in the form of turning and milling. Our products are particularly incorporated into rail vehicle construction, including for the Swiss Federal Railways, as well as in traditional machine construction and as facade components in the construction industry. For one of our long-standing partners, however, we also produce height-adjustable pools – our expertise is in demand across a variety of market segments.

Wirtschaftsforum: With your SwissPeaks product line, you are now also present in the B2C segment.

Joachim With: The step into manufacturing and distribution of our own products is not completely new for our company, but it used to be more of a marginal note for Almega. Now, over 50 household goods stores have our grilling and kitchen items in their portfolio, and our online sales also meet with sustained positive response. Here, we will definitely continue to expand our engagement in the coming years. The conditions we had to create for our success in this new field of activity were challenging, but we have successfully mastered them. Our fondue forks, cutting boards, and grill items are distinguished by a high finish and scratch resistance, which entails high quality requirements. These requirements have posed new challenges for us in production and further optimized our process sequences. The experience from our contract manufacturing has helped us to raise our standards and smoothly integrate the production of our own products into our existing processes. Thus, contract work and own production complement each other optimally and contribute together to the success of our company.

Wirtschaftsforum: Together with your partner Cheran Foster, you founded Almega Metalltechnik AG in August 2023 as the successor company to Almega AG. What motivated you to take this step?

Joachim With: I have been active in the company since 2019 and had known the then long-time owner Hugo Foster for many years – our families have been connected in friendship for a long time. In 2020, Hugo's son Cheran also joined the company to consider whether he could envision taking over the family business – but for him, it was already clear that he would never take such a step alone, but only together with a partner with whom he had a grown trust relationship. When he asked me in 2022 if I would like to get involved as an owner and managing director together with him, we quickly found common ground. For me, this was of course a unique opportunity, and Cheran's father Hugo has always treated me like his own son – such a chance is really not everyday.

Wirtschaftsforum: What attracted you to Almega when you joined the company in 2019?

Joachim With: I have always been very enthusiastic about learning new things. Originally, I took up the profession of car mechanic – so I come from a completely different industry, even though I never really worked there. Later, I worked in the construction and food technology industries, where I developed soft ice cream and worked with chocolate. My path to Almega began through a good friend of mine, who was responsible for marketing in this company and was working on the market launch of our Swiss grill. She then had to leave the company for personal reasons and asked me if I would be interested in this project – and with such a beautiful product, I simply could not say no.

Wirtschaftsforum: What impulses do you want to set in the management?

Joachim With: For me, the topic of young entrepreneurship is very important in this context: The last few years have brought persistent uncertainty with a pandemic, inflation, and a war in Eastern Europe – but it is precisely in these times that we need courage and confidence. We also want to make this attitude tangible in Almega Metalltechnik AG: We want to explore new paths, discover more market niches, and sometimes question established processes. Especially with regard to further digitalization of our company, we are on a good track and will probably be able to produce completely paperless within a year. However, we will certainly remain true to our central values – precise, punctual, and personal.

Wirtschaftsforum: What overarching vision is at the forefront?

Joachim With: We clearly want to be the sheet metal processor with the highest customer satisfaction in all of Switzerland and are ready to continue going the extra mile: This naturally requires a proactive approach to the necessary technical adjustments in production as well as even greater flexibility and transparency in our processes: We want to inform our customers in real-time about which manufacturing stage their product is currently in, to prove our absolute adherence to deadlines even at this point.