Interview
Women in engineering - Interview with Ines Hartwig
Ines Hartwig, Director of Product Management is one of the growing number of women who are making their mark at TOMRA Mining.
4 min
We asked Ines Hartwig about her role at TOMRA Mining and her experience in the industry.
“I work at our Mining headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. I am one of the key connection points between the market and the development of our products, and my role is to make sure that we develop the right things at the right time. This includes gathering market requirements and preparing the specifications for new developments. I also support our marketing team in defining the unique selling points of our products when we launch them into the market.”
Ines didn’t plan to have a career in mining:
“It was more of a coincidence. I started as an engineer at CommoDaS, developing electronics for sorting equipment and other image processing and automation projects. After working on the development of sensor-based sorting machines and focusing on sorting in general, it brought me to my current position in the mining business area within TOMRA (which acquired CommoDaS in 2006). Mining in general is a very attractive area as this is a very close community.”
She gets great personal satisfaction from her work in the mining industry: “raising people’s awareness of where the things we use in our daily lives come from and what they are made of. It makes me proud to have some influence on how the necessary minerals are extracted and processed in a better way. To have the opportunity to be part of an industry that contributes to make our lives better, easier, healthier, safer and more environmentally friendly is a great honor for me.”
“I work at our Mining headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. I am one of the key connection points between the market and the development of our products, and my role is to make sure that we develop the right things at the right time. This includes gathering market requirements and preparing the specifications for new developments. I also support our marketing team in defining the unique selling points of our products when we launch them into the market.”
Ines didn’t plan to have a career in mining:
“It was more of a coincidence. I started as an engineer at CommoDaS, developing electronics for sorting equipment and other image processing and automation projects. After working on the development of sensor-based sorting machines and focusing on sorting in general, it brought me to my current position in the mining business area within TOMRA (which acquired CommoDaS in 2006). Mining in general is a very attractive area as this is a very close community.”
She gets great personal satisfaction from her work in the mining industry: “raising people’s awareness of where the things we use in our daily lives come from and what they are made of. It makes me proud to have some influence on how the necessary minerals are extracted and processed in a better way. To have the opportunity to be part of an industry that contributes to make our lives better, easier, healthier, safer and more environmentally friendly is a great honor for me.”
Women are increasingly recognized as a highly qualified resource, and as mining can and will contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, women working in this industry can make a positive impact.
Mining is an industry where traditionally women are underrepresented, but Ines didn’t see this as an obstacle:
“Even at a very young age, I had a great interest in technical things and mainly spent my time outdoors. In my professional life, I have always experienced support from all sides and have had hardly any negative experiences or discrimination based on my gender. My credo is to take people as they are, and treat them as you would like to be treated. This helps to treat people with respect, and in most cases you get it back. I can only advise girls and women to follow their preferences, and if they are technically inclined, the mining industry is a good area to do something for a better future.
Ines has seen an evolution in the mining sector:
“Today you see, meet and hear more women in this industry. There is a general move towards inclusion and diversity. The realization that mixed teams also bring advantages in technical professions has spread. But I think that the foundation must be laid in schools so that girls become interested in science and technology at an early age. We can be a role model. As the mining industry becomes more digitalized and automated, the shift to remote operations is accelerating. Women are increasingly recognized as a highly qualified resource, and as mining can and will contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, women working in this industry can make a positive impact.”
“Even at a very young age, I had a great interest in technical things and mainly spent my time outdoors. In my professional life, I have always experienced support from all sides and have had hardly any negative experiences or discrimination based on my gender. My credo is to take people as they are, and treat them as you would like to be treated. This helps to treat people with respect, and in most cases you get it back. I can only advise girls and women to follow their preferences, and if they are technically inclined, the mining industry is a good area to do something for a better future.
Ines has seen an evolution in the mining sector:
“Today you see, meet and hear more women in this industry. There is a general move towards inclusion and diversity. The realization that mixed teams also bring advantages in technical professions has spread. But I think that the foundation must be laid in schools so that girls become interested in science and technology at an early age. We can be a role model. As the mining industry becomes more digitalized and automated, the shift to remote operations is accelerating. Women are increasingly recognized as a highly qualified resource, and as mining can and will contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, women working in this industry can make a positive impact.”
