At the 126th annual general meeting of Rieter Holding Ltd., Mr. Bernhard Jucker was elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. The general meeting also elected Mr. Carl Illi and Mr. Luc Tack (Chairman of Picanol) as new members of the Board of Directors.Chairman of the Board of Directors Erwin Stoller was no longer available to stand for re-election. The Board of Directors expressed its heartfelt thanks to Erwin Stoller for his outstanding achievements in the management, as well as development of the company and for his exemplary commitment to the well-being of Rieter.
In the almost 40 years of his affiliation with the Rieter Group, he shaped and formed the company for many years and rendered great service to the Rieter Group. During this time,Erwin Stoller served in various executive positions, including as Executive Chairman from 2009 to 2013, and as Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2008.
Mr. Jucker, a Swiss citizen, joined ABB in 1979, after obtaining a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. During the course of his career at ABB, he managed several global businesses serving customers in the utilities sector as well as industry before becoming country manager of ABB Germany in 2003, and Chairman of the Management Board of ABB Germany. In 2006, he was appointed Member of the Group Executive Committee and President of ABB’s Power Products division, which he led successfully for a decade to market leadership, before becoming President of ABB’s Europe Region and Chairman of the Divisional Transformation Team in 2016.
As announced in February 2017, Mr. Werner Strasser has retired. On April 6, Mr. Serge Entleitner, as a member of the Group Executive Committee, assumes responsibility for the Components Business Group. Mr. Werner Strasser began his career at Rieter in 1994 and was appointed a member of the Group Executive Committee in 2011.
Winterthur location
Rieter intends to create a modern location in Winterthur, concentrating the customer center, product and technology development, assembly and administration on an area of approximately 30,000 square meters. The necessary planning process is underway. In a later phase, work will begin on developing the remaining area of around 70,000 square meters.
Rieter expects sales and earnings in the first half-year to be on a par with those of the previous year, and a stronger performance in the second half-year. Despite low visibility in the sales markets, Rieter expects sales and profitability for 2017 to be at the level of the previous year (before restructuring costs).