KraussMaffei closes some European plants due to coronavirus, promotes Ruf to CEO
Equipment maker KraussMaffei Group GmbH is closing plants in Munich, Treuchtlingen, Hanover and Schwaig, Germany, as well as Sucany, Slovakia. In an email to customers, KraussMaffei said the closings are “due to the current corona situation and to protect your and our employees.”
The company said the plants will close for at least two weeks, probably three. The Netstal plant in Näfels, Switzerland, is excluded from the shutdown.
During the plant closure, production, assembly and delivery of machines will be stopped. The company said detailed information would be available soon and company sales representatives would be contacting customers.
In the meantime, spare parts delivery is guaranteed, the retrofit area is accessible, and project planning and sales support is still available as employees work from home offices.
KraussMaffei’s action follows an earlier announcement by Engel that it closed operations at its Austrian plants until April 15, after six of its workers across two plants tested positive for COVID-19.
KraussMaffei also announced that Frank Stieler will resign as KraussMaffei Group CEO March 31 and Michael Ruf, the current COO, will take over the position. The company does not plan to fill the COO position.
Under Ruf’s leadership, the company said in a press release that it will streamline its organization; “This allows further rationalization to deal with the challenges from the current complicated and volatile economic situation and the impact from the corona crisis.”
“We are ready to face such challenges,” Ruf said in a statement. “I enjoyed working with Dr. Frank Stieler, thereby creating the concepts for the changes together. I am grateful that he developed the company to this level.”
Board Chairman Bai Xinping credited Stieler with refocusing and repositioning KraussMaffei as a plastics industry pioneer.
“He has managed the company to deal with the current challenges,” the board chairman said. “We thank him for his work and wish all the best for his future.”
Contact: Krauss-Maffei Corp., Florence, Ky., 859-283-0200, www.kraussmaffei.com
Bruce Geiselman | Senior Staff Reporter
Senior Staff Reporter Bruce Geiselman covers extrusion, blow molding, additive manufacturing, automation and end markets including automotive and packaging. He also writes features, including In Other Words and Problem Solved, for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. He has extensive experience in daily and magazine journalism.
