Between Technology and Nature. Annemarie Kuch is a woman who brings balance to contrasts. Technology and nature, precise programming and physical work – both shapes her path and brings depth to her life.She has found her home in commissioning and installation at Zimmermann and reports on her work on the FZP37.
When we meet Annemarie by the FZP37, she is focused, deeply absorbed in her laptop with the machine’s control in view. Even though the timing for a conversation isn’t ideal in any way, she makes time. The FZP37 is a special project for Annemarie: it’s the first machine for which she has full responsibility from start to finish. “I witness every problem firsthand, which allows me to solve it immediately,” she explains. She completed her mechatronics degree with a bachelor-thesis on ‘Automated Commissioning’ and since then has been juggling with over 100,000 parameters daily at Zimmermann. “The work is enjoyable. It’s diverse, but sometimes challenging.”
Her fascination with technology has been with Annemarie since she was a child – and this is no coincidence. “Especially electricity always fascinated me. You can’t see it, yet it has an effect,” she says. Her father, who often took her to construction sites, sparked this interest in her.
But Annemarie is not only at home in the world of technology. She is a passionate hunter, loves farming, and seeks peace in nature to ground herself. During the COVID-19 lockdown, when homeschooling with muted microphones and black screens dominated her daily routine, life led her to head to the mountains. “That’s not how I imagined studying, and I needed to get out,” she says. She applied for a job at an alpine pasture to work there. “I knew what to expect. My sister is a farmer, and my family has orchards – I have a good understanding of physical labor.”
Since then, Annemarie regularly takes time off at alpine pastures. “Milking and cheese-making, every day, 93 days straight” – that’s how she describes her last season in Carinthia. Nature gives her strength, but her love for technology always leads her back.
“If someone had told me five years ago that I would develop and program software, I would have thought they were crazy,” she says with a smile. “It’s exciting to see where life takes you when you stay open to new things.” Now, Annemarie returns to the FZP37 to complete the programming and get the machine running. Annemarie has found her balance between technology and nature.