Shoichi Ohira will join the management board of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery as Chief Operation Officer (COO) and Head of Production, effective 15 January 2019.
Hideki Kuroiwa, Chief Collaboration Officer will change into management and return to Japan shortly, where he will be responsible for Global Planning, and coordinating future joint projects within the Group.
Ohira has become established as an injection moulding machine expert with the Japanese parent company Sumitomo Heavy Industries in Japan, China and the US.
He is a certified production expert, with his most recent positions, include Head of Production and Quality Management.
In his new role, he will focus on further optimising production efficiency and significantly reducing cycle times, which he considers his priority.
Sumitomo (SHI ) Demag
“Following the rising growth rates, we experienced in recent years, we are now focusing on increasing production performance and stabilising production capacity on the high level,” said Gerd Liebig, CEO Sumitomo (SHI) Demag.
“Mr Ohira has valuable experience in the optimisation of complex production processes. He will follow through with the already initiated investments in our facilities in Schwaig, Wiehe and Ningbo.”