At the beginning of July 2023, the Board of Directors of the Building Valves Division of the VDMA elected Stefan Gesing, CEO of Dornbracht AG & Co KG, as its new Chairman. As a result, the 45-year-old will henceforth also assume the role of Vice Chairman of the VDMA Valves Association. Gesing succeeds Oliver D. Gessert, formerly Managing Director of VDMA member company KWC Aquarotter GmbH, who resigned from the Board of the Valves Association with effect from May 1, 2023.
«The building valves industry plays an important role today and in the future as a supplier of equipment and technology in buildings,» Gesing emphasized on his election. «I look forward to helping shape the image of the valve industry in the coming years and to advancing our industry issues together with the other board members. In doing so, we are called upon to tackle the market challenges in the currently difficult economic climate and to set the course for the industry to continue to develop in a sustainable manner.»
Gesing (pictured) has been CEO at Dornbracht since 2020. Previously, he served as CFO and member of the executive board at Grohe AG and as CFO at Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions.
«Building valves play an essential role in future-oriented building technology that bundles sustainability, resource efficiency, safety and comfort,» says Dr. Laura Dorfer, Managing Director of the VDMA Valves Association. «With our board of the VDMA Building Valves Division, we are committed to securing the framework conditions for the positive development of this important industry sector in the increasingly challenging market environment, as well as representing the interests of the industry to legislators, authorities and the public. We are very pleased to have Stefan Gesing, an experienced manager and thought leader in the industry, as our chairman, who will work hard to ensure the successful positioning of the industry.»
The board of the VDMA Building Valves Division is completed by Andrea Bußmann, Managing Director Sales & Marketing, Schell GmbH & Co. KG Olpe; Dirk Gellisch, Managing Director Viega Holding GmbH & Co. KG Attendorn; Dr. Michael Rehse, Managing Director – Casting and Building Technology Division Gebr. Kemper GmbH + Co. KG Olpe; Michael Rimm, Head of Sales Germany IMI Hydronic Engineering Erwitte; Johannes Rump, Managing Partner Oventrop GmbH & Co. KG Olsberg, and Elisa Sasserath-Kentsch, Managing Partner Hans Sasserath GmbH & Co. KG Korschenbroich.
The VDMA represents 3,600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies. The industry stands for innovation, export orientation and SMEs. The companies employ around 3 million people in the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of them in Germany alone. This makes mechanical and plant engineering the largest employer among the capital goods industries, both in the EU-27 and in Germany. In the European Union, it represents a turnover volume of an estimated 860 billion EUR. Around 80% of the machinery sold in the EU comes from a manufacturing plant in the domestic market.
