Martin Baumann has stepped into the role of CEO at Rocky Hill, Conn.-based Arburg Inc., taking the helm of the subsidiary of Germany's Arburg GmbH + Co KG from Friedrich Kanz, who is retiring at the end of the month.
Kanz led the injection molding machine builder's U.S. operations, which include technology centers in Elgin, Ill., and Irvine, Calif., for 23 years. He is retiring June 30.
Baumann took over the CEO job on June 1 after serving four years as vice president and general manager for Maag Americas, the U.S. operation of Maag Pump Systems AG, the Swiss maker of melt pumps, pelletizers and continuous melt filters.
Baumann also has worked for Erema North America Inc. in Massachusetts and Husky Injection Molding Systems in Vermont.
He was chosen to manage the Arburg subsidiary, which has more than 100 employees, because he has in-depth knowledge of the plastics sector and he has management, sales and project experience from several U.S. companies, according to an Arburg news release.
Established in 1990, Arburg Inc. has been based in Rocky Hill since 2015.
The subsidiary has its headquarters on the East Coast and technology centers in the Midwest and on the West Coast to get closer to customers in the U.S., which is one of the German parent company's most important sales markets.
Baumann, who describes himself as a "business and general manager with a focus on developing and implementing growth strategies for complex industrial products in the B2B environment," will work with staff at the Arburg corporate headquarters in Lossburg, Germany, to prepare for his new challenges.
"I feel greatly honored to be part of the Arburg family and I look forward to making my contribution towards ensuring that our customers can produce their plastic parts efficiently, the key to commercial success, with our high-end technology," Baumann said in the release.
Company officials also said they owe Kanz a debt of gratitude for transforming the U.S. subsidiary into one of Arburg's most important and biggest support bases worldwide.
"Over the years, he moved Arburg and its products closer to customers by opening Arburg Technology Centers in Illinois and California, purposefully expanded service capabilities in the U.S. and Canada," the release says. "He was also instrumental in planning, implementing and expanding the subsidiary's premises in Rocky Hill, Conn., which became home to the company in 2015."
More than 13,000 Arburg Allrounder injection molding machines have been installed in the U.S., Canada and the Mexican border region, the release says.