Injection moulding machinery manufacturer PlastiVation announced it has appointed Thomas Strecker as its new managing director.
The appointment comes as the company’s founder and CEO Bengt Schmidt decided to step down from his role in May.
Schmidt, formerly of KraussMaffei, founded the Munich-based company in 2021 with a focus on electric machines and digitalisation. At Fakuma 2023, he told Sustainable Plastics PlastiVation was partnering with Chinese injection moulding machinery company Tederic. The NEO series of injection moulding machines is built by Tederic in China at a fraction of the cost with the ‘latest’ European technology from PlastiVation.
In April 2024, the Tederic Group acquired PlastiVation which it said would continue operating as an independent entity. The acquisition was announced in May as a ‘strategic change’ happening alongside Schmidt’s decision to step down as CEO.
Now, Thomas Strecker has been promoted as managing director of PlastiVation. He had been the company’s vice president of sales since August 2023. Previously, he held sales roles with KraussMaffei for seven years and with Arburg for almost two years.
“The positive order trends this year inspire confidence, bolstered by our strong ‘Customer Care’ approach,” said Strecker. “As we take on more responsibility within the Tederic Group, we are committed to evolving our company’s strategy and continuing PlastiVation’s success story. This transition underlines our sustained growth and the value we have created, evolving from a start-up to a respected player in the plastics industry,” he added.
As an independent subsidiary within the Tederic Group, PlastiVation’s expanded responsibilities include the immediate takeover of Tederic NEO series sales in the Benelux region - Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Since Fakuma 2023, PlastiVation has been responsible for sales of the NEO series in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
PlastiVation’s acquisition comes as other European plastics machinery manufacturers are facing intense competition from markets like China and the United States. Arburg, for example, announced plans in March to start assembling machines in both countries. Austria's Wittmann Group is also rethinking its site strategy and is looking to transfer production elsewhere, in large part because wages have risen steeply along with the cost of living in Europe.