18.07.2017

All change at Tadano Faun

Tadano has announced the departure of Tadano Faun chief executive Alexander Knecht and general manager sales & marketing Thomas Schramm.

Knecht’s duties have been taken over by Kenichi Sawada, 51, who was previously a senior executive of the parent company responsible for after sales service, used cranes and Information /communication technology.

Sawada joined the Tadano group in 1992 as a sales manager for the Middle East region, seven years later he took over the sales promotion and planning department. After another five years he was appointed as president of Tadano America. In his new role he will also oversee the after sales service, spare parts, finance and IT departments within Tadano’s German business.

Knecht joined Tadano in 2009 from Terex where he was managing director and chairman of Terex Demag. He had official left Terex in mid-2008 “to take up a position elsewhere” and was replaced by Doug Freisen.

A statement from Tadano said: “With almost 40 years of experience in the crane industry, Alexander Knecht modernised Tadano Faun significantly during his eight year tenure and started to make the company, which was getting on a bit, fit for the challenges of the 21st century. His work focused primarily on improving company structures and processes with the aim to further enhance product and service quality.”

Sawada added: "Mr. Knecht did a brilliant job for the company, and I would like to thank him cordially on behalf of the entire Tadano group for doing so. I intend to build upon his work and use my own experience to lead the company to a successful future."

Knecht will continue in an advisory role until the end of the year.
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Alexander Knecht (L)hands over the business to new chief executive Kenichi Sawada

Other changes at the company include Rolf Sonntag, 51, taking over sales & marketing, order processing and HR. He joined the company 25 years ago and has worked in variety of roles, and was made a director of the German company in 2007. Thomas Schramm is “leaving the company voluntarily to re-orientate himself.” His tasks including management of Tadano UK and Tadano France SAS, have been taken over by Sonntag.

Ulrich Zschenderlein, 48, general manager material management is promoted to director of operations with responsibility for the material management, production and steel fabrication.

Hiroaki Sakai, 48, until recently quality and service director as BQ Tadano in China, is takes over responsibility for quality management. While Yuji Muneno , 48, will continue to director of research and development alongside his role as general manager for Sustainable Value Engineering in Japan.
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The new board of directors at Tadano Faun (L-R) Hiroaki Sakai, Ulrich Zschenderlein, Kenichi Sawada, Rolf Sonntag and Yuji Muneno

Vertikal Comment

This is something of a surprise and was apparently implemented at the start of the month, why exactly it has happened now is hard to be certain. While the company has made substantial progress over the past eight years, the introduction of the 600 tonne ATF 600G with its revolutionary triple boom has not gone smoothly since it was unveiled over two years – so far none have shipped. Knecht – who is an engineer and was chief designer at Demag prior to its acquisition by Terex – has been closely associated with the triple boom concept and has his name on the patent.

On the other hand attempts to expand the European distribution network have not gone particularly well. The company established Tadano France last year, but it has not exactly been a runaway success. But all this is mere industry speculation and overall Tadano’s German operations have turned out increasingly good products with exceptional reliability which customers greatly appreciate.

Knecht is possibly considering retiring, following a very notable career in the crane industry. Sawada is from a younger generation of highly internationally experienced executives and has a strong track record. His most recent posting seemed modest, given his capabilities, and was possibly a 'parking place' while waiting for such an opportunity to arise. He might just be exactly what the European business needs to take it to another level?
Watch this space