Ulrich Zahoransky retiring from namesake company
Ulrich Zahoransky, 71, CEO of Zahoransky AG, a manufacturer of injection molding, automation and other technologies based in Freiburg, Germany, will step down from the executive board on Dec. 31.
He will hand over management of the company to CFO Ric Nachtmann and CTO Heinrich Sielemann, who both joined the company in the past year as part of the transition strategy. It will mark the first time in the company’s 123-year history that there will not be a family member on the management board.
Ulrich Zahoransky held positions in accounting and IT at other companies before following his father, Heinz Zahoransky, into the family business in 1988. Under his leadership, production facilities were built in Germany, India and Spain; employment grew from 370 in 1995 to over 920 in 2020; and revenue tripled.
The company also moved into new business areas such as automation, medical technology and digital solutions. It undertook large-scale projects such as the U.S. initiative “Operation Warp Speed,” providing more than 20 systems for producing vials for coronavirus vaccines.
“We are and want to remain a family business with strong values, even though now, after 123 years, there is no longer a family member on the board for the first time,” Ulrich Zahoransky said. “We set the course for this with the conversion to a stock corporation in 2003. With the two board members, Dr.-Ing. Heinrich Sielemann and Ric Nachtmann, we are well-positioned for the future and can offer our employees secure jobs.”
Zahoransky AG plans to further expand its role as a manufacturer of molds, machines and systems in the oral care industry, the brush/broom market and medical technology.