Thomas Marufke strengthens HAHN Group Material Handling Division

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Thomas Marufke is expanding the management of the Material Handling Division as of August 2021. He takes on the role of Bernhard Rupke, who will retire at the end of the year. Together with COO Gregor Kessler, Thomas Marufke will continue to unify the division and expand its leading position in automation solutions surrounding injection molding machines.

As managing director, Thomas Marufke controls the expertise of the HAHN Group in automation systems for plastics production and processing. In his role, he will be responsible for the customer-oriented areas of sales and service as well as the oversight of topics relating to project management and technology. Together with Gregor Kessler, COO of the Material Handling Division, he will take care of the strategic development of the division. Both also take over the management of Waldorf Technik.

Through his career, Thomas Marufke earned many years of experience in the plastics industry. After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Marufke last worked for KraussMaffei Automation GmbH for over 20 years, of which he spent nine in the position as managing director.

The Material Handling Division includes the brands Waldorf Technik, GeKu Automatisierungssysteme and WEMO Automation with locations in Germany, Sweden, the USA and Turkey. A presence in Asia is also currently being established. These companies will benefit from Marufke’s profound expert knowledge of automation and robot technology for all aspects of injection molding production.

„I am delighted that we were able to win Thomas, a proven expert and great character, for the HAHN Group,“ explains Philipp Unterhalt, CEO of the HAHN Group. „With his skills and many years of experience as managing director, he will support our companies in the plastics processing market segment in offering an even more extensive range of services for our customers and partners.“

„The companies Waldorf Technik, GeKu Automatisierungssysteme and WEMO Automation are powerful brands that stand for the highest quality and precision,“ states Thomas Marufke regarding his new tasks. „I am looking forward to working with a strong team to further expand our customers‘ satisfaction, to grow internationally and to deliver economical solutions for injection molding automation worldwide.“

In his role, Thomas Marufke takes over the duties of the previous managing director and division director Bernhard Rupke, who is retiring. After a transition period, he will continue to support the HAHN Group in an advisory capacity. „We would like to thank Bernhard very much for his work over the past few years,“ explains Philipp Unterhalt. „With his support, we brought the companies in the division closer together and mastered the Covid period superbly. We wish Bernhard the best health and satisfaction.“

HAHN Plastics Automation: The HAHN Group has competent people all over the world

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In the interview with Stefan Kropp you can find out more about international cooperation and the exchange between our HAHN Group subsidiaries. Stefan Kropp has accompanied GeKu Automatisierungssysteme since its incorporation and has repeatedly taken on different roles. 1.5 years ago he accepted the offer to move to HAHN Plastics Automation in the USA. You can find out more about the connection between GeKu and HAHN Plastics Automation and how the working styles might differ between the countries on the HAHN Plastics Automation website.

HAHN Group sets the course for the future

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The HAHN Group is preparing for further growth.

With the reorganization of the investment structure by RSBG SE, the investment company for medium-sized companies of the RAG Foundation, RSBG Automation & Technologies GmbH is created as a new corporate platform. This also results in a broader potential and further synergies for the HAHN Group. The previous CEO of the HAHN Group, Thomas Hähn, will be in charge of the new platform. The previous managing director Philipp Unterhalt will take over the helm of the HAHN Group on April 1, 2021. Together with Axel Greschitz (CFO), the further expansion of the group in factory automation is driven forward. Additional locations are to be opened in the next few months.

RSBG Automation & Robotics Technologies GmbH as a new company platform enables growth in further business areas through the use of technical and organizational synergies

With the establishment of RSBG Automation & Robotics Technologies, RSBG SE opens up the possibility for further technology investments besides the HAHN Group. The HAHN Group is a 100 percent stake in the new platform and focuses on automation and robotics in the industrial environment. In addition, further investments in automation and robotics in non-industrial areas are planned.

Further development of the management team underlines the stability and continuity of the HAHN Group

The management of RSBG Automation & Robotics Technologies is taken over by Thomas Hähn, founder of HAHN Automation and longstanding CEO of the HAHN Group. In the future, as CEO of RSBG Automation & Robotics Technologies, he will be responsible for all activities in the area of automation & robotics, and will therefore continue to be strategically linked to the HAHN Group.

Philipp Unterhalt takes over the management of the HAHN Group. Together with Axel Greschitz as CFO, he will push the next growth step and promote the diversification of the company network. Unterhalt will take up his new role as CEO of the HAHN Group on April 1, 2021.

“I am pleased to introduce Philipp Unterhalt as the new CEO of the HAHN Group. He has demonstrated outstanding strategic orientation. With his international experience and value-based management style, he is the ideal candidate for the further development of the HAHN Group. I really appreciate our cooperation and look forward to continuing it in the new constellation,” said Thomas Hähn, CEO RSBG Automation & Robotics Technologies GmbH.

Philipp Unterhalt has been with the HAHN Group since 2014 and worked as its managing director since 2019. Together with Thomas Hähn he developed the concept of the HAHN Group as a platform for entrepreneurially managed automation companies and managed all transactions of the group of companies. Under his leadership, the new companies were integrated and the digital strategy was also developed and implemented. In addition to the operational business, the 39-year-old is also responsible for corona management at the HAHN Group. The economist lives with his family in Essen.

“The HAHN Group is a fascinating group of companies and entrepreneurs. Due to the network character, we can use the synergies of a large company and still be very close to the customer with innovative solutions,” explains Unterhalt. „I am really looking forward to working with the entire team in order to continue our successful strategy: organic growth, supplemented by technological expansion as well as expansion of the business in additional industries and the strengthening of global activities.“

Into the future with mobile robotics

The HAHN Group continues to grow even during the pandemic. Incoming orders across the Group in 2020 increased by 21 percent compared to the previous year, in particular due to orders in the healthcare sector. The focus of the current year is, among other things, on growth in the area of mobile robotics. Two more locations for the HAHN Robotics Network are to be established in southern and eastern Germany this spring. Mobile robotics enables the support of logistics processes in production with minimal integration effort and thus offers even for smaller companies interesting automation solutions that quickly pay for themselves.

Waldorf Technik and HAHN Automation jointly serve the demand for the healthcare industry

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The market for the healthcare industry has been booming in recent years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global demand for diagnostic laboratory consumables rose to unprecedented levels.

As a member of the HAHN Group, Waldorf Technik has access to a global network of automation and robotics specialists. The knowledge transfer within the HAHN Group and synergies in training of employees allow all companies to work together in managing additional order peaks. This allows Waldorf Technik to find a suitable solution together with the customer while fulfilling the order in a timely manner with the support and cooperation with HAHN Automation.

It quickly became clear that HAHN Automation could support Waldorf Technik not only with the building of standardized systems at their site in Rheinböllen, but also add their expertise in construction and design in order to improve processes. Automation systems for pipette tips are now also being manufactured in Rheinböllen in order to meet global demand.

The applied technology

As part of the cooperation, the patented and proven Vario TIP® FSS system from Waldorf Technik is built at the HAHN Automation site according to customer specifications. HAHN Automation and Waldorf Technik both grow from the exchange of knowledge. As a result, HAHN Automation today designs and builds completely new modules as required in order to jointly deliver unique production systems for the manufacture of laboratory consumable products.

Benefits of working together

As partially standardized solutions from Waldorf Technik were already available, HAHN Automation was able to implement the projects very quickly. With its extensive experience and competence, HAHN Automation was able to actively support the development department of Waldorf Technik. This experience with the healthcare industry, which was gained in a short time, is particularly valuable for HAHN Automation: The HAHN Automation Süd location in Villingen-Schwenningen was officially opened in September 2020 and focuses on the planning, design, construction, assembly and commissioning of assembly and testing systems for the production of medical devices and systems. The local team can also carry out appropriate equipment validations in order to adhere to FDA and EMA standards.

Synergies within the HAHN Group

With modular automation processes, the value-added steps in the manufacture of medical consumables can be covered even better through the cooperation between Waldorf Technik and HAHN Automation, as well as HAHN Robotics, GeKu and WEMO. Customers have the advantage that they are looked after by closely coordinated teams within the HAHN Group, which already have cooperation experience and enable quick collaboration.

GeKu: With us, customers get to know their systems down to the smallest detail.

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Get to know Patrick Tarnowski, who has been with GeKu Automatisierungssysteme GmbH since 2012. In his role, he takes on the service technology and training management for test systems. You can find out what other tasks he handles, what he particularly enjoys about his work and what makes the company so special on the GeKu website.

GeKu: Good performance creates great opportunities for young employees

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On the GeKu website you can find out what successful training and employee development looks like within the HAHN Group. Get to know Marcel, who stood out with his particularly good performance during his training at GeKu. He then had the opportunity for a very special exchange within the HAHN Group corporate network. Find out more about the exchange with HAHN Automation in the USA and what Marcel takes away from this experience on the GeKu website.