SchTop: More than just a canteen

The Komax Group not only takes measures to promote the wellbeing of its employees with a wide range of movement and sports activities and voluntary health check-up days, for example. In line with its company purpose, the Group also aims to help the community and make life easier, more convenient and safer. This is achieved on the one hand with the business strategy, and on the other hand by actively supporting a wide range of projects in local communities where it is based. At the Schleuniger site in Thun, for example, where employees are offered fresh, warm meals, snacks and delicious treats in the SchTop canteen daily.

The menu in SchTop is large and varied. The focus here isn't just on refreshment and the lovely view of the Bernese giants Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. With the SchTop canteen, Schleuniger is also supporting the TRANSfair foundation. The goal of the foundation is to offer a suitable workplace and a place in the community for people who have been thrown off track due to a personal crisis or physical illness. TRANSfair helps people back into the workplace and gives them recognition and structure. Over three hundred people are currently working at TRANSfair, five of whom are employed in the SchTop. Under the management of Peter Weber, they ensure that Schleuniger employees are treated to largely seasonal and regional products over the lunch period and have various food options available to them even outside the usual mealtimes. We spoke with Peter Weber and asked what makes working at Schleuniger's SchTop so special.

Peter Weber, you have 27 years of experience in managing company restaurants and have been working in the SchTop since 2023. What do you like most about your work here?
The work is extremely varied. I take care of the menus and am also responsible for integrating and supporting my employees. In the past, many menus were delivered ready prepared by TRANSfair, but I wanted to include more variety. vegetarian alternatives and above all fresh vegetables, which is why practically everything is now prepared on-site. I was really welcomed here at Schleuniger and made contacts really quickly.


⁠What is special about the work at TRANSfair?
The balancing act that has to be navigated between normal service and social skills. You have to remain calm and pleasant, even in stressful situations. In addition to preparing the menus, I have to assign work to my team, provide support and help with integration. I have to pay particular attention to the needs of my employees. If someone has problems, for example, I need to give this person longer breaks and more time to complete their work. We look after our employees and also care about how things are going in their private lives.


Do you sometimes face challenges?
We do sometimes get questions from external guests in the SchTop who notice that something is different here. They don't know that we're a social institution focused on supported working and where the employees receive disability insurance benefits. The goal is to offer structure for the TRANSfair employees, help them to make contacts with other people, to give them the opportunity to have work colleagues and to integrate in society. That works really well here at Schleuniger. But if I notice that someone is uncomfortable or is finding the work too challenging, there is the option of seeking a different type of work within TRANSfair. We are also feeling the skilled worker shortage. There are people at TRANSfair, who have managed to return to the normal world of work over the past few years. I'm always in need of an additional pair of hands here in the SchTop.