COVER STORY
Seamless Progression
Sven Nieper new CEO ofWAFIOS Umformtechnik
WAFIOS Umformtechnik has been building machines for the fastener industry for more than ninety years. As 2012 dawns and the company prepares to unveil new advances in fastener manufacturing technology at the wire 2012 fair, it has also securely engineered a transition in managerial leadership.
capacity of “special sales representative”. The career of Ullrich Walther is a prime example of what constitutes the success of German industrial companies. Just like many other prominent business leaders he learned his trade “from scratch”. He began as an apprentice at the predecessor company of WAFIOS and added to this qualification a Master of Engineering with further on-the-job studies. Later, as managing director, he became an authoritative figure and guarantor for global partners and customers. Through his continued commitment to the company, WAFIOS ensures a smooth transition in leadership. Sven Nieper (45), who has already been spokesman for
U
WAFIOS Umformtechnik for two years, will assume the current duties of Ullrich Walther. Alongside Sven Nieper, Jutta Leib continues to oversee the organisational and finance departments in her role as managing director at the Wuppertal-based engineering company. The reason why WAFIOS has decided on this early transitional
approach, of making a move in the right direction, can be explained by these facts given by the Deutscher Industrie und Handelskammertag (the DIHK is the Association of German
llrich Walther (63), who has worked for the WAFIOS Umformtechnik company for 45 years, stepped back from active management on 1st
remain at the disposal of WAFIOS customers in the January 2012, but will
Chambers of Industry and Commerce). “It is known that at 80,000 medium-sized companies, a succession of leadership will be necessary within the next five years. In 20,000 cases, this succession has not yet been arranged. The result: valuable know-how in the economic location of Germany is lost forever and an estimated 23,000 jobs could be wiped out.” This was a sufficient enough reason for WAFIOS to make the handover, in a professional, secure and harmonious way. Sven Nieper, who has a diploma in Business Sciences, previously worked in a leading position at the internationally active automotive companies HUGO BAUER GmbH and ESU GmbH, sees two major advantages in this smooth transition of a successor at WAFIOS: the continuity for the customers is maintained, and simultaneously his own initiated future strategy can be implemented. In an interview Sven Nieper explained his plans for WAFIOS.
What new goals have you set for the company? Nieper: “First and foremost, I would like to emphasise that
we will maintain the basic values that have made us successful in the over 90 year history of our company. These are precision, quality, reliability, trust and punctuality. In addition, we must equip ourselves for global competition. We will stay ahead of our competitors, with innovation and customer satisfaction and further establish ourselves as a technological and market leader.
Ullrich Walther (left) stepped down at the beginning of 2012, when Sven Nieper took responsibility as CEO of WAFIOS
“ First and foremost, I would like to emphasise that we will maintain the basic values that have made us successful in the over 90 year history of our company.”
40 Fastener + Fixing Magazine • Issue 73 January 2012
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