Leadership Changes at Manroland Sheetfed

Transition undertaken “with entirely home-grown talent”

Manroland Sheetfed, the German printing press builder, has announced the appointment of Mr Mirko Kern as its new CEO.

Mr Kern succeeds Mr Rafael Penuela, who now assumes the Chairmanship of the Manroland Sheetfed Group.

Mr Penuela (64) joined Manroland in 1992 and headed the Manroland Sheetfed group since 2012, when the business was acquired by the current owner, Langley Holdings. Prior to, he held several senior management positions within the formerly listed Manroland AG.

Rafael Penuela – Chairman, Manroland Sheetfed Group

Mr Kern (51) joins the iconic press builder from DC Druck Chemie Group, where he has been Managing Director since 2016.

Mirko Kern – returns to Manroland as CEO

The appointment to the top job at Manroland Sheetfed will be something of a home-coming for Mirko Kern. He began his career with the former Manroland AG in 1989 as an apprentice, going on to hold various positions across the organisation before leaving to join Druck Chemie in 2011. He became Managing Director of the print chemicals group in 2016.

Concurrently Mr Simon Wolf, General Manager of Druck Chemie Germany, steps up to Managing Director Druck Chemie Group and Mr Sebastian Seum from Head of Finance at Druck Chemie becomes Head of Finance for Langley’s Print Technologies Division.

Mr Anthony Langley, the parent group’s founder, said:

“I am very pleased that it has been possible to undertake this transition with entirely home-grown talent. On behalf of the board and personally, I would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to Rafael Penuela for his outstanding leadership of Manroland since we acquired the business in 2012 and to warmly welcome Mirko Kern to his new role as CEO. We wish him every success”.

About Manroland Sheetfed

Manroland Sheetfed GmbH is a leading German producer of sheetfed offset litho printing presses. Founded in 1871, the company is one of the oldest producers of printing presses in the world. Today the company has its own subsidiaries in over 40 countries and is a global watchword for supreme quality and reliability. Manroland Sheetfed GmbH was acquired by Langley Holdings plc in 2012.

About DC Druck Chemie

The DC Druck Chemie Group which includes Blue Print Products, is a producer of speciality chemicals, consumables and support services for the printing and graphic arts industries. Druck Chemie was founded in 1971 in Ammerbuch, near Stuttgart, where it is still headquartered. Today Druck Chemie has subsidiaries in 10 European locations as well as Brazil and Mexico, In November 2014, Druck Chemie was acquired by Langley Holdings plc and together with Blue Print Chemicals, is part of the group’s Print Technologies Division.

About Langley Holdings

Langley Holdings plc is a privately owned UK-based engineering and industrial manufacturing group, principally producing capital equipment for diverse markets worldwide. Langley businesses are either outright market leaders, or occupy strong niche positions in their respective fields, providing advanced technologies in a solutions-based approach. The group operates in three principal areas: Power Solutions, Print Technologies and Other Industrials. The group’s operations are based in Germany, Italy, France the UK and Norway, with 18 production facilities in Europe, Scandinavia, the UK and the USA. The group has more than 90 sales and service subsidiaries worldwide and employs over 5,000 people. Langley Holdings was established in 1975 by the current Chairman & CEO, Anthony Langley and remains entirely in family ownership.


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