Siegfried Winkelbeiner, managing director of Schoeller Textil, will go into retirement and, after ten years with the Swiss textile company, hand over the helm to Joachim Kath this month. Coming from the chemical industry, Kath joined this major supplier to the sporting goods industry one and a half years ago as chief operating officer to prepare for the already planned takeover. He has worked for many year at big chamical groups such as Ciba (-Geigy) / BASF in engineering, production, marketing and sales in various management functions and in a wide range of business areas and applications worldwide. He devoted 12 years to textile finishing, with a very intensive period of travel in Asia and a three-year stay in the U.S. Kath says he will ensure that Schoeller can continue to meet changing market demands and reinvent itself with exceptional products.
