Changes in Management

The traditional company from Düren in the Rhineland is a roller manufacturer and, as such, “one of the leading suppliers in Europe and the world”. The rollers from the family-owned company are used to equip a wide variety of industrial systems; wherever continuous, web-based production or further processing of materials takes place. The product range also includes, for example, cable drums for large crane systems, belt drums for large transport systems, and running drums for vehicle test benches. In addition to rollers, the company offers special machines for the processing and finishing of technical textiles, a business area that is primarily assigned to the subsidiary Wumag Texroll. The company employs around 150 people at a total of three locations.

The previous management team consisted of Michael Hess and Peter Kayser, both shareholders. Mr. Kayser was responsible for production and sales and left the company as planned mid-year after overseeing the company's successful growth during approximately eleven years of service.

Michael Hess, who previously oversaw the commercial side, remains the sole Managing Director. He will now be supported by two authorized signatories who will support him and ensure the management's ability to act.

Wolfgang Römer has been Head of Design at Krafft for over 10 years and previously held various responsible positions at Wumag Texroll for many years. He is therefore not only the head of special machine construction but also a proven roller expert with over 30 years of experience.

Andreas Liffmann joined the Krafft team four years ago and took on the role of Head of Sales. He was able to successfully contribute his experience in mechanical engineering and the sale of capital goods requiring detailed explanations to the organization and quickly familiarize himself with the world of roller construction.

“I am very pleased and grateful that both colleagues have agreed to assume responsibility as authorized signatories. This is a clear sign of stability and continuity, but also a commitment to the company and its shareholders,” explains Michael Hess.

The new management team is optimistic about the future, but is also confronted with the current market conditions, which have been reflecting the global geopolitical and economic upheavals for several months now. Last year, for example, we already suffered a noticeable decline in sales, and the current year has also seen a further weakening of demand. “Although our activities are present in many industries and our business is linked to markets worldwide, we unfortunately have to acknowledge that things are not really prospering in practically all areas at the moment,” says Andreas Liffmann, commenting on the market situation. “Too much uncertainty is blocking planned investments.” Michael Hess adds: “Global uncertainties are compounded by domestic problems in Germany. Energy-intensive production facilities are being shut down, for example in the paper industry, but labor costs and bureaucratic expenses are also clearly too high.”

After this situation has paralyzed the markets for around two years now, management is hoping for an improvement and that one or two projects will finally gain momentum and be realized. "We are involved in many planning discussions, and customers are struggling with their decisions, so we expect some positive momentum in the coming months," reports Wolfgang Römer, reflecting on his experiences.

The company is currently adapting to the current situation and adjusting capacity in some areas through short-time work. Michael Hess: “This primarily affects the administrative areas, while production is still busy and in some cases even struggling with scheduling problems. We hope that the expected market upturn will occur in time so that we can actually largely do without short-time work in production.”

Jörg Hütten, who has been part of Krafft's GL team for 10 years as the person responsible for production, is also hoping for this: “Despite the weak order intake, we have the problem of catching up on backlogs, but we also have to take vacation time into account, which can sometimes have strange consequences, but our workforce is committed to this.”

The youngest member of Krafft's management team is Stefan Schneider, who has been with the company for two years and is responsible for materials management. The purchasing environment is also changing, as the market for steel and the corresponding semi-finished products is particularly dynamic. “The war in Ukraine not only had a significant short-term impact in terms of extremely high prices, but also had a lasting impact because the steel mill in Mariupol is now closed. The fundamental economic weakness is affecting retailers, who are closing locations, reducing warehouses, or withdrawing from the market altogether,” says Schneider, explaining the situation.

Many challenges await the Krafft team, and at the same time, they also want to focus on other areas. These include product developments that are always closely aligned with the market and customer needs, as well as the development of their own AI solution to support internal processes. The company's focus is on quotation calculations on the one hand and capacity planning on the other. “These are exciting topics for which there are new opportunities,” says the new management team at Krafft.