Schwaig, Germany — As 2016 winds down, the new management team is now complete at Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery GmbH, the maker of injection molding machines.
Starting Jan. 1, Gerd Liebig becomes CEO, succeeding Tetsuya Okamura, who is senior vice president of the Japanese parent company, Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd.
Sumitomo Demag announced the change at the top spot in October. But its latest press release, dated Dec. 16, revealed some new personnel moves.
Andreas Schramm will move from his role as chief technical officer, to become chief operating officer as of Jan. 1. Schramm will handle all operational processes and services, ranging from organization and purchasing to quality and production.
Taking Schramm's former CTO position is Hideki Kuroiwa, who has managed and led technology development projects. He will be responsible for the injection press maker's product development, product synergies and working on innovative customer solutions, in conjunction with the Japanese parent company.
Kuroiwa, 51, joined Sumitomo Heavy Industries in 1990 and worked in the corporate research and development division, developing new technology in mechanical components for about 10 years. He moved to Sumitomo's Plastics Machinery Division in 2000, where he was responsible for developing new machines, and also worked on business development for several years.
Then Kuroiwa became responsible for development teams of injection molding machines in the R&D department.
After Sumitomo acquired Demag in 2007, he led collaborative development between the Japanese and German machinery manufacturers. Together with his German colleagues, Kuroiwa led the development of the IntElect Smart all-electric presses.
Kuroiwa moved to Germany in 2014, where he has handled new all-electric molding machine technologies. He has been senior integration manager of Sumitomo Demag in Schwaig for the past three years.
