Machinery veteran Wolfgang Studener has left his position as president and CEO of BC Extrusion Holding, which oversees Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH, Cincinnati Extrusion GmbH and American Maplan.
The new president and CEO is Jurgen Arnold.
Studener resigned from the top spot June 30, after more than 30 years of service to the Battenfeld extrusion business. He is not retiring, but will not be engaged in day-to-day business as deeply as before, according to a company spokeswoman. He will remain as a consultant and a member of the company's advisory board.
Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik, Cincinnati Extrusion and American Maplan are owned by European private equity firm Triton. Last year, the extruder makers integrated back-office functions, as Triton set up the holding company and named Studener the top executive in the fall.
Arnold, 55, holds degrees in industrial and mechanical engineering, specializing in plastics technology. He has worked in the plastics industry for 20 years, starting at Bayer AG in Leverkusen, Germany, in applications engineering for thermoplastic polyester materials. He held several management positions in marketing and sales at GE Plastics, ending as managing director for GE Plastics Germany.
From 1996 through 2000, Arnold was general manager of industrial gases producer Messer Griesheim, then was CEO at GEA Westfalia Separator GmbH from 2000-02. Before joining BC Extrusion, Arnold was CEO for six years at pump maker Sterling SIHI GmbH.
Another German extruder maker is making people news, as Stuttgart-based Coperion GmbH has streamlined its executive board. Wolfgang Pöschl, a board member and head of its “competence center” for compounding and extrusion, left the company.
Pöschl's responsibilities will be divided among remaining board members. Alex Kiefer, already in charge of materials handling, also will oversee Coperion's business with large compounding systems for the polyolefins industry.
Thomas Kehl will continue to be responsible for service. He also will be in charge of business with small and midsized compounding and extrusion machines for the plastics, food and pharmaceutical industries, and for special applications.
Coperion said the new, smaller executive board is a response to changing market conditions.
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