Uster Technologies has announced plans for a phased evolution in key senior management positions. Progression to the next leadership generation will see Harold Hoke, Vice-President, Sales and Service, and Walter Kiechl, the company’s Chief Officer in China, step back gradually, to foster a seamless transition over the next year.

After 37 successful years with Uster, Harold Hoke will be succeeded by Anson Xu and Andreas Tanner, under a new organisational structure. Anson Xu will head all the Chinese operations, while remaining as Head of Sales in China. Andreas Tanner will become Head of Sales for the rest of the world, as well as handling liaison with machinery manufacturers.

Assisting new appointees

The new appointments will take effect from 1 April 2018. However, Harold Hoke will continue with Uster until at least March 2019, assisting the new appointees with the take-up. He will also remain a member of the company’s executive committee, as well as assuming full responsibility for other projects. On completion of these duties, Harold Hoke will enter his retirement.

“Andreas Tanner is already well-known within Uster and the wider textiles community. His experience, passion, determination and accountability, will assure strength, continuity and stability of the Uster business,” the company reports.

Advance planning

In making the changes, Uster Technologies says it has focused on advance planning, to ensure customers experience a smooth and efficient continuation of their relationship. “We have taken the opportunity to have a fresh look at our organization, to position ourselves for the future. By initiating an early search for internal and external candidates, we are confident we have identified the right successors, as well as creating a streamlined transition plan,” said CEO Thomas Nasiou.

The Uster Group is a leading high-technology instrument manufacturer of products for quality measurement and certification for the textiles industry. The Group provides testing and monitoring instruments, systems and services that allow optimisation of quality through each individual stage of textiles production. This includes raw textile fibres, such as cotton or wool, all staple fibre and filament yarns, as well as downstream services to the final finished fabric.

The Group is headquartered in Uster, Switzerland, and operates through a worldwide market organisation complemented by technology centres. It has sales and service subsidiaries in the major textile markets and technology centres in Uster, Knoxville, TN, US, and Suzhou, China.

www.uster.com