Caine-Allen Bauser has been living in China for nearly a year managing the Mayer & Cie. works relocation from Shanghai to Jintan. He is currently preparing for production to get under way.

Bauser’s career has been impressive. It is only eight years since he embarked on training with the German company to become a production mechanic specialising in textiles. At the end of his first year, he already knew that he would work as a service technician and follow Mayer & Cie. circular knitting machines to the end of the world if need be.

Mayer & Cie. recently spoke to Mr Bauser at the company’s new factory in Jintan.

Mayer & Cie. (M&C): How long have you been with Mayer & Cie.?

Caine-Allen Bauser (CAB): I began my training at Mayer & Cie. in September 2016 and qualified in 2019 as a production mechanic specialising in textiles. I then went straight into service as I had wished. That took me all over the world installing new machines, repairing existing machines or solving errors that the knitters had been unable to rectify on-site.

My very first service assignment was a baptism of fire. I and an experienced colleague travelled to Poland to install machines there. My colleague was sick as we drove there and by the evening his condition was so bad that he was taken to hospital by ambulance. I slept hardly a wink that night and in the initial hours of on-site assembly I felt really nervous. Fortunately, that eased off after a while and I managed to complete the assembly successfully. My colleague’s health has long recovered but he was in hospital throughout our stay in Poland.

That was one hell of an experience but looking back I would not want it to have been in any way different. I simply had to function and get on with the job, and that made an enormous difference for me personally.

M&C: You had just finished your job training. How old were you when you had to fend for yourself in Poland?

CAB: Twenty-nine, so I wasn’t exactly a greenhorn. Training to become a production mechanic was my second apprenticeship. At 16, on leaving school, I learnt the trade of a vehicle spray painter – never the job of my dreams, it must be said. 

In my mid-20s I was on the lookout for a traineeship as an industrial mechanic. At Mayer & Cie. I was advised to train as a production mechanic and quickly decided to take up the offer. In my first year of training, it was already clear to me that I wanted to be a service technician.

M&C: Can you recall any other adventures as a travelling service technician?

CAB: Hm, let me think… I was in India in 2022. It was December and I had a machine to repair in Delhi. When the machine was up and running again the customer was so grateful that he called in a Buddhist monk to bless the machine and me. During the ceremony I had a typical dot placed on my forehead – and felt greatly honoured.

M&C: What is your current job title?

CAB: Project Manager at Mayer & Cie., China. I sometimes jokingly refer to myself as Project Manager MCN 2.0. I am in charge of the relocation of Mayer & Cie.’s Chinese subsidiary from Shanghai to Jintan, for planning and for production.

M&C: How did that come your way?

CAB: In April 2023 Benjamin Mayer travelled to China. He decided to relocate the works. The plans had been around for a while but were long on hold because of the Covid travel ban. On his return Benjamin approached me and asked whether I would take on the project. My decision was swift and positive. I moved to China in August 2023. That involved a fair amount of red tape. I needed a work permit and a Chinese bank account. I no longer have an official place of residence in Germany, I have a Chinese contract of employment and am registered with the authorities here.

Many things are entirely different from life in Germany, and they seem more complicated. Cameras everywhere with images evaluated by artificial intelligence take some getting used to. American communications providers such as Google or WhatsApp are prohibited. Distrust of everything American goes much further. Chinese people can refuse to speak English. Even when it is clear that they understand me they refuse to reply in the language.

Technically the Chinese firewall is pretty good, so setting up a VPN connection with a server in Germany takes time. Tips and tricks for nearly every area of life are traded in the German community. Fortunately, there is one here and a nice group it is too, all told. We meet for a Stammtisch every Tuesday.

M&C: That sounds like a whole lot of challenges. Were you able to prepare for the task?

CAB: Last year, once the decision to relocate had been made, we started planning with a seven-member project team. To begin with, all we had was an empty hall. How was it to be used? Where was what to be located to enable production to function sensibly and efficiently? Starting with assembly, we asked what they had in Shanghai, in order to know the quantities, we were talking about: how many tools there were, how many machines and so on.

M&C: Did you already know China, had you been here before?

CAB: No. I flew straight to China in August 2023 with 60 kg of luggage. Initially there were two of us, Benjamin Mayer and me. When I arrived in Shanghai and saw the script at the airport, I really did wonder what on earth I had let myself in for! 

M&C: How long will you be here?

CAB: I am flying home on 25 August 2024 and, to tell the truth, I am counting the days. But don’t misunderstand me, I would do it again right away! The experience has taken me further in every respect. 

M&C: What was the greatest challenge?

CAB: The first weeks were the toughest until I had my work permit and driving licence. A German or international driving licence is not valid in China. Then there was the banking. It took nearly ten weeks for me to be able to pay for things, for WeChat to work. And for me to understand the basics of life here, such as travelling by train or reading the timetable.

Workwise the relocation from Shanghai to Jintan was very challenging. We packed everything up in Shanghai and unpacked it here. There were often only two of us. A fully laden truck stood outside our empty hall in Jintan and everything had to be unloaded. We were often in the hall until midnight.

M&C: How do you spend your leisure time here? What do you do at the weekend?

CAB: I have it ‘nice’ here. My apartment is on the 15th floor in a large compound of the kind that is around everywhere here. I have my own car and am mobile.

I don’t do much at the weekend. Most German colleagues are either here with their families or have a Chinese wife. Their leisure activities are different. I go to Shanghai on my own at the weekend; it takes 50 minutes on a high-speed train. Or I lie down with a book by the lake, but always doing that is not much fun.

Keeping in touch with family and friends in Germany is difficult. The usual channels – WhatsApp and Instagram for example – are prohibited. The time difference of six to seven hours doesn’t make spontaneous phone calls with friends in Germany any easier.

Life other than at work is what I miss most. I spend a lot of time on my own.  

M&C: What have been your highlights?

CAB: I once visited an important temple in Shanghai where a monk blessed bracelets for my godchildren. That was a special experience for me.

My father is visiting me in a few weeks’ time and I’m really looking forward to that. I bought him a flight ticket, he’ll be here on August 6, the first person to visit me. For a long time, it was not easy to visit without a visa and flights are still very expensive. I am off work that week, so we will be able to spend a lot of time together.

M&C: What happens once you are back in Germany?

CAB: I will continue to oversee the China project and am sure to travel to China several times a year. Our production is up and running, we have switched from the knitting head principle to assembly from local parts. It will remain my job to get it up and running properly. Next year the works here will be connected to SAP, and I will be here with IT colleagues.

M&C: What do you most look forward to when you return home at the end of August – apart, that is, from your friends and family?

CAB: The food!

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