New subsidiaries, new markets and new leaders around the world

Kübler Invests in Germany, India; Taps Leaders

The Kübler Group in Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany, established an Engineering Solution Center (ESC) in Berlin, increased its presence in India and named a new regional sales director. Bernard Hiller, an engineering manager with more than 20 years’ experience in the encoder industry, will lead the ESC, which adds to Kübler’s “Innovation Marathon” that has resulted in new products that include elevator positioning systems.

In India, managers and owners from Kübler Germany joined Kübler India Automation Pvt. employees, customers and partners to celebrate 10 years in business. They also inaugurated a new factory and sales center in Pune. After the ribbon cutting, Lothar and Gebhard Kübler promoted their vision of “an even stronger German subsidiary, serving customers in the local market and worldwide.”

In addition, Kübler recently appointed Claudio Zeitvogel sales director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He has more than 20 years’ sales and marketing experience, primarily in German-speaking markets. He holds a master’s degree in Electronics from Furtwangen University.

Serapid Changes Hands

After 30 years at the helm, Serapid Group President and CEO Saïd Lounis has sold the company, which supplies lifts and related equipment to diverse industries, to Emeric Labesse and Guillaume Davies, who are CEO and chief operating officer, respectively. Lounis retains a stake in the company. Labesse and Davies are backed by LBO France, one of France’s leading private-equity companies. In announcing the acquisition, the pair said their goal is to “continue the development of the company based on the fundamentals that have made it a success: innovation, competence and the excellence of its team.”

Schmersal Founds Japanese Subsidiary, Names Managing Director

The Schmersal Group has founded Japanese independent subsidiary Schmersal Japan KK, based at the same Tokyo location as the parent company’s former sales office. Tetsuya Horimoto has been named its managing director, taking over from Dr. Tekashi Kabe, who retired at the end of 2017 after many years as manager of the sales office. Horimoto is a TÜV safety-certified engineer with many years of management experience in the automation sector. Horimoto said Schmersal Japan KK plans to hire engineers and grow physically, adding a warehouse that will facilitate faster deliveries. He observed:

“The majority of our customers in Japan come from the mechanical-engineering sector, the steel industry, the automotive industry and lift construction. It is these customers, in particular, that we can support with the sound knowledge of experts in [our safety-services division] tec.nicum about the different international and European legal directives and standards on machine and occupational safety, and the relevant safety solutions.”

Rosemor Breaking Into New Markets

U.K.-based Rosemor International reported it is breaking into new markets, including China, India, Iran and Romania. Rosemor has been directly supplying escalator-cleaning machines to U.S. customers for more than 17 years, and uses dealers to supply to customers worldwide. The machines, for which an attachment is now available that adapts them to moving walkways, are mainly used in department stores, malls, metro stations, airports and stadiums. The company stated:

“Dealing with so many different countries and business cultures over the years has enabled us to adapt to new customers and markets. With so many more countries to break into, Rosemor is very excited for 2018 and what new business it may entail.”