October 20--TRUMPF has long been preparing for the generation change. Today it became official. As the German machine tool manufacturer and laser specialist announced today at its annual press conference, Professor Berthold Leibinger is stepping down from his chairman position in the international company group and assigning it to the family's next generation.
On November 18, 2005, after 40 years leading the company, Professor Leibinger will resign from his position as president of the TRUMPF Group. He will move to the supervisory board of the group and assume the chairmanship there.
A four-member team will run TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG, the holding company of the TRUMPF Group.
Dr. Nicola Leibinger-Kammuller will become new president of the group. She will continue to be responsible for corporate communications and also hold the title labor director for personnel matters. The PhD graduate is Leibinger's oldest daughter. Since 1985 she has been working in various management functions within the company, including three years at TRUMPF's Japanese subsidiary. Nicola Leibinger-Kammuller will remain managing director of the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung, which she has been overseeing since 1992.
Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman of the managing board will be Peter Leibinger. Berthold Leibinger's son has been head of the Laser Technology Business Division since 2000. He has been appointed head of the Electronics Business Division and will also oversee research and development and new business divisions. From 1999 to 2003, Peter Leibinger presided over the largest foreign subsidiary of the corporate group, TRUMPF Inc., USA.
Executive Vice President Dr.-Ing. Mathias Kammuller heads the Machine Tool and Power Tools Business Divisions and oversees procurement, production, and quality. Kammuller is Leibinger's son-in-law and has been working for the company since 1990.
As CFO and Executive Vice President Harald Volker oversees finances and IT and heads up the Medical Technology Business Division. Volker, who came to TRUMPF in 1990, has been chief financial officer of TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG since 2001.
"I am thankful to have found such qualified successors within our company," said Professor Leibinger during the press conference. "They have been with the company for many years in positions of responsibility. And they have proven themselves well in their quite varied jobs. I am convinced that they not only have the necessary professional qualifications, but that in terms of character, they will fully meet the expectations and continue to successfully run this family business in the spirit in which I have sought to operate."
Under Leibinger's leadership, TRUMPF transformed itself from a small machine tool company to Europe's largest manufacturer of machine tools and the world market leader of lasers for production technology. In the last 40 years, the company has been able to record an average sales growth of 15 percent annually. Currently, the group consists of 45 subsidiaries with 6100 employees worldwide.
"I give to my successors a company that is in excellent shape," said Leibinger in closing.