RACINE, WI — Modine Manufacturing Co. has announced plans for creating a new strategic product focus for its vehicular business units and related administrative groups. This change, which will become effective Nov. 1, will impact the company’s three primary vehicular divisions: Powertrain Cooling Products (covering chassis mounted components and systems); Engine Products (covering engine mounted components and systems, including Modine’s exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) coolers); and Passenger Thermal Management Products (covering passenger HVAC products and systems).
“We are placing resources behind these product groups to enable us to meet the global market proactively, with more speed, agility and vision,” said David Rayburn, Modine president and chief executive officer. “We are very proud of our 90 year history at Modine and this new focus will allow us to build on that past success. A better global product focus will facilitate our ability to develop and commercialize our products and leverage our skills and knowledge across multiple global markets. We will retain our core strengths of innovative product development, application engineering and manufacturing, while enhancing our ability to address our customer needs on a consistent, global basis.”
In addition to creating global vehicular product groups, Modine has announced it will strengthen its regional manufacturing operations, sales and select administrative activities relating to those vehicular market-based units along its current regional lines – Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. “This will better enable the company to implement consistent sales and marketing strategies, share best practices, better utilize assets, establish a Modine Production System to drive continuous improvement and plan strategically for future geographic expansion, all of which will make the company more cost competitive on the global stage,“ said Thomas Burke, Modine’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “We believe these changes will result in significant benefits to our customers, and strengthen Modine’s position as a leading global thermal management solutions provider,” Burke continued. Modine will continue to report its operating results along these regional lines.
Modine has taken a more product-based orientation in the last six years, having launched its Engine Products, Fuel Cell and Vehicular HVAC groups. “The success of these smaller product-focused groups as well as feedback we have received from customers bolsters our strong belief in the value of a broad thermal product-based organization structure for Modine at this time,” Rayburn concluded.
These organizational changes will necessitate new responsibilities and reporting structures for several key executives at Modine. At the senior leadership level, reporting to Thomas Burke, executive vice president and chief operating officer, will be the three current group vice presidents, who will become regional vice presidents in the new structure. Those individuals and their regional assignments are:
• Jim Rulseh, Asia Pacific;
• Chuck Katzfey, Americas; and
• Klaus Feldmann, Europe.
In addition, Modine announced newly created senior leadership positions overseeing the new vehicular global market product groups. Individuals selected for these new roles are:
• Tom Marry, managing director of Global Powertrain Cooling Products. Marry has worked at Modine for eight years, most recently as general manager of the North American Truck Division; and
• Paul Byrne, managing director of Global Engine Products. Byrne has spent 21 years at Modine, most recently as managing director, European Heavy Duty Division.
The company said further announcements are expected as the company continues to focus on this new structure.
For information about Modine, visit: http://www.modine.com.
