Expert Appointed Head of Business Unit Automotive Since 1st July 2012, Eckhard Gatawis has been directing the Staufen AG’s Business Unit Automotive. The excellent Lean Expert consciously changed from the automotive supply industry to the consultancy business in order to assist more companies with his expertise. With a degree in mechanical engineering, he has – due to his practical knowledge of more than twenty years – experience in the development and roll-out of production systems, the set-up and restructuring of plants and in the design of a global manufacturing footprints. In particular the implementation, communication and training of Lean principles, including the appropriate introduction of KPIs, are among his strengths, as well as international project management skills in multicultural structures. “My goal is to further establish the Business Unit Automotive at Staufen and to drive our customers from Lean Production to a Lean Enterprise, “said Gatawis. “Furthermore, we plan to advance the internationalisation of the business unit according to the needs of the OEMs and suppliers of the automotive industry.” “Prior to joining Staufen AG, Gatawis was as Head of the Division Global Production at Hoerbiger Kompressortechnik Holding GmbH, where he was responsible for the results of eleven plants, including purchasing and logistics. Previously, he managed at Kautex Textron GmbH & Co. KG the plant in Bavaria, which supplies the production of Audi in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm, of BMW in Dingolfing and of Daimler in Sindelfingen just-in-sequence. At Rittal GmbH he also worked as plant manager. At the beginning of his industrial career, he worked at Joh. Vaillant GmbH & Co. KG, first as a project engineer and later as a factory manager. For his commitment to Lean, Gatawis won several awards. He was a laureate of the benchmark competitions “Factory of the Year” and “The Best Factory. Industrial Excellence Award “and received the personal awards “Six Sigma Champion”, “Lean Accelerator “and “Best Practice Award”. “We are delighted to welcome Gatawis, a passionate Lean representative and expert, with excellent practical knowledge on board,” said Martin Haas, CEO and founder of Staufen AG. “He will not only bring us forward in the automotive sector, but will as well enrich the projects of our customers and promote the aim of a Lean Enterprise actively.
