New Technical Director at IWKA

He was responsible for the Technical and Marketing Department from 1987 and since 1996 was in addition Labor Director for the company. During this time the market volume of the IWKA Group, active worldwide in the field of machine and plant construction for the manufacturing industries, rose from less than 0.5 billion euros to more than 2 billion euros.

Professor Gerhardt made his name in the field of Simultaneous Engineering, and is also known at European level. He was regarded as an expert in the marketing of investment goods and from 1996 to 2001 headed the marketing committee of the Association of German Machine and Plant Constructors (VDMA). He has been honorary professor at the Robert Schuman University Strasbourg in this area of expertise since 1990. Professor Dr.-Ing. Gunther Reinhart (45) was named as his successor as Technical Director of IWKA by the Supervisory Board on 14 December 2001.

Professor Reinhart moves to IWKA from the Technical University Munich. He has been Professor of Machine Tools and Manufacturing Technology there since 1993 as well as a member of the management of the Institute for Machine Tools and Management Science (iwb). Between 1988 and 1993, Professor Reinhart was with BMW AG, Munich, most recently as manager of bodywork manufacturing. At the same time, the Supervisory Board named the two deputy directors Hans Lampert (45) und Dr. Jörg Fischer (42) as regular members of the IWKA board. Mr. Lampert is responsible for the Finance Department, Dr. Fischer heads the Controlling Division.

IWKA is one of the leading systems suppliers to the mechanical and plant engineering industries. The IWKA Group is a global partner supplying the automobile and consumer goods industries, as well as energy utilities. In business year 2001, the IWKA Group, with a payroll of some 12,800 staff worldwide, will book sales of EUR 2.2 billion.