When Anja Christ talks about balls, then the KGM selection forewoman is primarily talking about faultless goods. “Each ball has different requirements based on the sample parts catalogue – for example, Grade 3/5/10/16/600 and so on,” explains the 45-year-old, who has been working in the factory for 28 years.

The choice of her favourite ball there is hardly surprising: “perforated balls – because they are checked on a skewer.” And that’s a welcome change especially for the eyes. Ultimately, it is a matter of filtering out day by day different types of flaws such as rust, softness, material mixing, press and rolling flaws out of thousands of balls, depending on the material. Ms. Christ’s favourite balls are used above all in so-called “white goods” such as in refrigeration compressors. But also, aluminium balls as used in cars used for example in safety belts, are popular with the selection forewoman. But in everyday life, she usually comes into contact with small steel balls – e.g. as stirring media, they ensure that nail polish remains liquid for as long as possible.

Most consumers are not even aware of all the places where balls are used, say Ms Christ and she continues:

“Like, who thinks of balls when it comes to Insulin syringes or massage rollers?

This surprises most people when I tell them”. And because each ball involves other specifics in the search for flaws – such as when they are used as safety components in medicinal products or in the automotive sector – her professional life remains varied. Just the way Ms Christ likes it in her work, along with the particularly good working atmosphere at KGM.