FMA Storytelling – The Story of Success of Andrea Masserano, BASF Engineer.

Interview to a bright Italian talent.

Andrea Masserano is a young, promising engineer with clear ideas about his future and a humble behaviour. Yet, he is extremely determined. Thanks to his talent, he worked his way inside BASF, worldwide leader chemical company, and today he is Sales Manager for additives and plastic pigments.

On LinkedIn he defines himself as a naturally curious person and this is demonstrated by his career choice. Andrea Masserano graduated in Chemical Engineering from Turin Polytechnic and, in the specific, he is interested in topics and challenges linked to the new global context; for instance, he is concerned about sustainability and digitalization. An interesting aspect about his job is that he is both an engineer and a commercial agent; indeed, he is also in charge of the commercialization of BASF products.

Goodmorning Andrea! Thank you for the interview. We know that usually you are the one person asking a lot of questions, but for today, allow us to ask you some! We would like to find out how to build a successful career such as yours starting from Young Graduates’ Program of BASF, a project thought for young talents.

• How did this program come to your attention and what dragged you in this project? What attracted you the most about BASF?
  I have always had the ambition to work for BASF. It was my goal since the first years of university. Working for BASF was such an attractive idea that made me apply for it many times even before the Young Graduates’ Program was established. Indeed, Young Graduates’ Program was my fourth attempt to be hired by BASF. What was most appealing about this program was the idea of seeing three different working realities in 15 months, getting to know people from different cities and backgrounds, and most importantly, having the opportunity to better understand what my professional path was going to be. I remember talking to myself the day of the interview. I thought “It’s now or never, now you are going there and getting the job!”. I was so determined!

• With this project, BASF is investing in building young profiles, allowing them to have three different experiences on the territory. The three experiences vary from each other both for the location and for the job experience that will be undertaken. In which sites were you assigned and for how long? What kind of experience did you have?
  My first activity was in the Business Development in Cesano Maderno (MI), which is the Headquarter of BASF here in Italy. It was my first commercial experience, a completely unknown world for me as an engineer.
  My first job-rotation was in Pontecchio Marconi (BO), where I worked in the Operational Excellence, OpEx. The focus of this work-team was on the continuous improvement and optimization of the processes. I am convinced that this job is one of the jobs that will mark the future! It will be increasingly necessary in order to understand the challenges that we are facing, first among all the digital revolution of the industry.
  The second rotation led me to Rome, as a Process Engineer in one of the most fascinating divisions of BASF. Here, the business in focused on the production of metal-based catalysts. Rome’s site works every year with hundreds of thousands of tons of Platinum and Palladium. Without these products, we wouldn’t have abatement systems for pollutants derived from plastics and medicines.
  Last but not least, at the end of the 15 months program I went back to my commercial division as an Account Manager.

• How was your experience within the BTC division at the beginning? How do you do your work, and could you please tell us about the industries BTC works with?
  BTC is the business unit that deals with the selling of products of the BASF group to PMI – small and medium sized companies, which are the core of Italian economics. The position of Account Manager has meant for me something more than a job: it was a gym for the brain, because in that position one needs to be agile and proactive. For instance, in the morning I can be in R&D department for the development of new products, while in the afternoon I can be in a meeting with a Purchasing Manager, upset because of the prices’ rise. For dinner, it can happen to be dining with the owner of a company that asks me about my personal view on the global logistic situation.

• We accept advice! What would you tell a young person that is just as curious as you? How can you exploit at best this quality and the passion for engineering?
  I try to give you an advice that I would have liked to receive a couple of years ago. Open up to new opportunities, listen to your instinct! Don’t listen to those who claim that with a technical degree you can only be a technician! Do it if this is what makes you happy, otherwise try something else.

The great value of Young Graduates’ Program of BASF is precisely that it provides the possibility to understand for which job you are most inclined for, independently from your job title or previous study path. At the end of these 15 months of experience, I am sure you will know yourself deeper and you will be able to finally decide which career path to step into!

We thank Andrea Masserano for sharing with us his inspiring story and we wish him all the best for his future!

BASF – Young Graduates’ Program 2022

BASF Italia has announced the 2022 edition of the Young Graduates’ Program. This program is aimed at hiring 8 young, talented, and recently graduated profiles. If you are interested in challenging yourself and growing in an international environment, then come and join us! BASF needs you! Found out more about this project on: Scopri di più