Career
Contact

Young IT Builds strong AI

At ORAFOL, young talents design innovative solutions, take on responsibility, and help shape the company’s digital future. One example stands out.

THE BASIS OF THE SYSTEM: A LOCALLY OPERATED AI SERVER THAT GUARANTEES SECURITY AND INDEPENDENCE.

A sudden jolt, a sharp alarm – and then nothing moves: the elevator is stuck. In the past, maintenance staff would have had to leaf through thick manuals to identify the problem. Today, a short query in the new AI system is enough – and seconds later it provides the correct repair instructions. For the maintenance team, this is a real advantage, saving considerable time and effort. What makes it special: the AI system was not developed by a major US tech company but was built directly at ORAFOL – by Eric, 28 years old, during his working-student role in the IT department.

Offline first, online second

Eric studied Business Information Systems at the Berliner Hochschule für Technik and dedicated his bachelor’s thesis to the use of AI in knowledge management. Before that, he worked as a media designer, where he began early on to experiment with AI-generated content. When he started looking for a working-student position in the region, his aim was clear: he wanted to apply his enthusiasm for AI in a practical way. ORAFOL gave him exactly this opportunity – along with the freedom to build an AI system designed to make employees’ daily work easier.

“When I started the project, the goal wasn’t to develop a perfect solution right away,” Eric explains. “The first step was to understand which use cases and requirements existed for AI at ORAFOL – and how to build something meaningful on that basis.” The first step was securing the right hardware. Together with his colleagues in IT, Eric set up an AI server equipped with a modern graphics card and fast storage. “I deployed different AI models such as Gemma 3 on the server and created a web interface that enables employees to access the models.”

ORAFOL IT-CHEF HENDRIK HENSGEN.

But why go through the effort of building a dedicated server when ChatGPT already exists?

Hendrik Hensgen, Head of Global IT Operations, explains: “Our philosophy is: offline first, online second. We deliberately chose a local AI system and rely exclusively on open-source and publicly accessible models. This keeps us independent from major US providers and ensures full protection of sensitive company data.” At ORAFOL, data protection, GDPR, and the EU AI Act are therefore not obstacles but rather an opportunity to develop future-ready AI solutions. “In addition, we can adapt the open-source models to our specific needs,” he adds.

This becomes particularly visible in the AI applications already running on the server and actively used by employees – for example for translations, text editing, or image generation. “We connected the AI system to a database holding thousands of entries. The AI can search this database and provide specific information within seconds,” Eric explains.

Hendrik Hensgen summarizes:

“With projects like our ORAFOL AI HUB, we are proving that our IT Vision 2030 is more than just a concept: we are implementing it together within the IT team and shaping ORAFOL’s digital future.”

AI ENGINEER ERIC PEETSCH ON THE ORAFOL PREMISES

When Talent Shapes Technology

Eric’s project is a prime example of how young talents at ORAFOL take responsibility and build solutions that create real value for the company and its employees. This is no coincidence but an integral part of ORAFOL’s team and training culture – especially within IT. Eric now works permanently as an AI Engineer in ORAFOL’s IT team.

Hendrik Hensgen, Head of Global IT Operations, sums it up clearly: “Eric is passionate about AI – and that’s exactly what we support as a team. We give him the freedom to implement his ideas while also clearing bigger obstacles out of the way.” Eric feels this support as well: “I have a lot of autonomy, but I also know that whenever I get stuck, I can count on the team for immediate support.”

And what comes next for the AI system? “We are still at a relatively early stage. At the moment, we operate only one server, so our plan is to expand the server infrastructure.” In parallel, the IT department is developing the ORAFOL AI HUB together with Eric – a central platform that will allow all employees to conveniently access various applications, ranging from document search and chatbot functions to text and image AI. The project also thrives on feedback from employees, who continue to request new features and improvements.

Read more in the ORAFOL magazine

Back to top