New Managing Director at Getzner Werkstoffe in Buers

Juergen Rainalter succeeds Dr. Roland Pfefferkorn

02.08.11

Buers/Austria. Getzner Werkstoffe, which specialises in vibration insulation, will have a new Managing Director as of 1 July. Juergen Rainalter (46), who has been employed in the company since 2009, will succeed Dr. Roland Pfefferkorn (61) in his role.

Founded in 1969 as a subsidiary of Getzner, Mutter & Cie, Getzner Werkstoffe has its headquarters in Buers and is one of the leading global specialists for vibration insulation in the rail, construction and industrial sectors. The company has been producing materials for the damping and isolation of vibrations since 1975. These high-tech-materials, made from polyurethane, are called Sylomer® and Sylodyn® and were developed by Getzner's own research team. On 1 July 2011, after a total of 16 years as Managing Director, Dr. Roland Pfefferkorn handed over the baton to Juergen Rainalter, previously Head of Sales at Getzner.

Market for vibration insulation undergoing change

In recent years, the market for elastic vibration solutions has been undergoing tremendous change: "Polyurethane, the material that forms the basis for our high-tech materials Sylomer® and Sylodyn®, has now proven itself to be superior to rubber and will continue to grow in importance. The fact that competitors are now joining together to compete against Getzner Werkstoffe shows our leading role in the market. We have a number of imitators in the markets, but their solutions are based on cheaper materials and have not been the subject of long-term tests. What we're doing right is looking beyond the obvious, as customers are increasingly calling for solutions instead of 'just' products. Thanks to our knowledge and expertise, the steps we have taken to make our company truly international we are able to offer these solutions in a great number of regions and countries", said Dr. Pfefferkorn, outlining his views on the company's position.

Expansion in all four directions

Getzner management continues to believe that the company will see expansion. "In future we will grow in all four directions: We are reinforcing our existing business in Europe by using our branches to create greater contact with the market. The Middle East and North Africa will also grow in importance in the current difficult environment. As far as Asia is concerned, we are establishing our new branches in Japan, China and India. Asia holds enormous potential for us, particularly in the rail sector – the population is constantly growing and the mobility of people and goods increases rapidly. In order to be able to benefit from this, we have to remain one step ahead in terms of technology. In North and South America, the creation/expansion of our business is proceeding gradually. The focus of our work there is unambiguously on the development of employees, managers and the organisation itself" stated Jürgen Rainalter, summarising the company's growth plans.

Moving forward consistently with the company strategy

Juergen Rainalter is relaxed about the change in Managing Director: "In order to ensure continuity, we have carried out intensive preparation as part of a succession process lasting one and a half years. Over the last six years I have already had the opportunity to play a part in developing the company's strategy", explained Rainalter, who was replaced by Peter Mangeng as Head of Sales on 1 July 2011.

Looking to the future

Juergen Rainalter is confident that demand for vibration mitigation solutions will continue to grow: "People throughout the world are becoming more and more sensitive to vibrations and noise pollution. For Getzner especially, it is an advantage that the requirements in this area are increasingly and becoming ever more complex, because as a provider of high-quality overall solutions, we can win many points here. Solutions that could reduce the life cycle costs of a construction to a huge extent offer further market potential. I am working on the assumption that we will be appointing many more staff in Vorarlberg and at other locationsin the future. Buers will remain the centre of excellence, and in the future we will develop new calculation programmes and services there, as well as producing materials and solutions using our key technologies", explained Juergen Rainalter, underlining his commitment to the Buers headquarter. Furthermore, the plan is to add further production sites and sales subsidiaries in potential markets. New products, new areas of application, many new services and solutions are currently planned to supplement the portfolio.

Contact

Milan Neugebauer

Press Contact

milan.neugebauer@getzner.com