LUDWIGSBURG, Germany — MANN+HUMMEL has announced that Claude Mathieu, currently president and CEO of MANN+HUMMEL USA, and chairman of the board of MANN+HUMMEL MEXICO, has been appointed to the position of president and representative director of the MANN+HUMMEL Group’s newest acquisition in Korea: MANN+HUMMEL Dongwoo. He will also serve as a member of the board of MANN+HUMMEL KOREA Ltd. Mathieu will begin his new assignment this month.
Mathieu will be replaced by Francisco Gomes Neto, who has been president and CEO of MANN+HUMMEL BRAZIL LTDA for the past eight years. During this time MANN+HUMMEL BRAZIL experienced unprecedented growth and success in the Brazilian market, which resulted in its receipt of the coveted Autodata Award 2007 as the best supplier of parts and components in the Brazilian automotive industry. Gomes Neto’s responsibilities at MANN+HUMMEL USA will be the same as those of Mathieu.
MANN+HUMMEL said it is planning to intensify its business activities in Korea as part of its strategy for Asia, Europe and the NAFTA market. The company will leverage its Korean subsidiary to gain direct access to national customers and generate additional sales with its key customers in NAFTA and elsewhere.
“By gaining direct and personal customer access in the strategically important Korean market and carrying out development and production on site, we will be able to deal with our customers’ international projects,” said Dr. Dieter Seipler, CEO of MANN+HUMMEL. “South Korean automotive manufacturers will be setting their sights on NAFTA over the coming years. We want to use these business opportunities as far as possible."
The change in MANN+HUMMEL USA and Korean operations follows closely on the heels of the company’s acquisition of cabin filter specialist helsa-automotive GmbH & Co. KG in Germany. The new company now trades under the new name of MANN+HUMMEL Innenraumfilter GmbH & Co. KG.
For more information about MANN+HUMMEL, go to: www.mann-hummel.com.