Weinheim, November 4, 2015. In course of long-term succession planning, Freudenberg´s 50:50 Joint Venture TrelleborgVibracoustic has announced changes at its Management Board level. From 1st of January 2016 on Dr. Jörg Böcking (49) will assume the position of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Stefan Eck (46) will take over the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the leading supplier of automotive vibration technology. The current CTO Jim Law (59) and CFO Norbert Schebesta (66) will act as senior advisors before their retirement in 2016.
Dr. Ing. Jörg Böcking (photo above) currently holds the position of Group CTO at Freudenberg & Co, being responsible for corporate R&D, innovation strategy and new business development. He joined Freudenberg in 1997 after his degree in mechanical engineering and a PhD specializing in vibration technology at Darmstadt Technical University. From 2001 until 2007 he worked for TrelleborgVibracoustic's predecessor Vibracoustic as Director System Development and Technologies and headed the Business Area Engine Mounts. From 2008 to 2012 he was in charge of Freudenberg New Technologies as General Manager.
Stefan Eck (photo above) joins TrelleborgVibracoustic from his function as CFO of the automotive supplier Hilite International. From 2008 to 2011 he held the position as CFO at Honsel Group, a supplier of light metal components to the automotive industry, where he worked in various leading positions since 2003. After his Master's degree in economics at Regensburg University and his exam as Certified Public Accountant in Delaware (U.S.) he started his career as associate and senior manager at the auditing firm BDO Deutsche Warentreuhand AG in Chicago (U.S.) and Munich (Germany).
"We are convinced that, together with the company's CEO Frank Müller, Dr. Jörg Böcking and Stefan Eck will drive the further profitable growth of TrelleborgVibracoustic, based on their comprehensive expertise in automotive and finance and their leadership skills," said Dr. Mohsen Sohi, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of TrelleborgVibracoustic and CEO of the Freudenberg Group.
Jim Law and Norbert Schebesta have led TrelleborgVibracoustic as members of the Management Board since the creation of the joint venture in 2012. Jim Law had worked in various leadership positions for Trelleborg Automotive and its predecessors since 1989. From 2000, Norbert Schebesta had held the position as CFO of former Vibracoustic. Between 1996 and 2000 he had served as CFO of Freudenberg Sealing and Vibration Control.
“We are very thankful to Jim Law and Norbert Schebesta for their achievements and longstanding service to TrelleborgVibracoustic as well as the two prior companies. It is due to the excellent leadership of the founding Management Board that this joint venture is one of the few really successful mergers in the industry. They laid a solid basis to extend the leading position of the Company in the automotive AVS market", underlined Dr. Sohi.
About TrelleborgVibracoustic
TrelleborgVibracoustic is the leading provider of anti-vibration solutions for the global automotive and commercial vehicle industries. Founded as a joint venture by Freudenberg and Trelleborg in 2012, the company generated sales of approximately 1.8 billion Euro in 2014. TrelleborgVibracoustic has around 10,000 employees at 39 locations in 19 countries who develop and produce powertrain and chassis components for automotive vibration control. For more information, see www.tbvc.com.
About the Freudenberg Group
Freudenberg is a global technology group that strengthens its customers and society long-term through forward-looking innovations. Together with its partners, customers and the world of science, the Freudenberg Group develops leading-edge technologies, and excellent products, solutions and services for more than 30 market segments and for thousands of applications: seals, vibration control components, nonwovens, filters, specialty chemicals, medical and mechatronic products, IT services and the most modern cleaning products.
Innovation strength, strong customer orientation, diversity and team spirit are the cornerstones of our Group. Commitment to excellence, reliability and pro-active, responsible action belong to the company’s core values lived for more than 165 years.
In 2014, the Freudenberg Group employed over 40,000 people in some 60 countries worldwide and generated sales of more than 7 billion Euros (including pro-rata consolidation of 50:50 joint ventures). For more information, please visit www.freudenberg.com