ASMPT, the world’s leading provider of integrated hardware and software solutions for semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, has appointed Dr. Martin Kruessmann as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the SMT Solutions segment. Kruessmann, who has a PhD in mechanical engineering, succeeds Josef Ernst, who holds the position of CEO of ASMPT’s SMT Solutions segment as of today. The ASMPT SMT Solutions management team will focus on further extending the segment’s lead in the SMT industry after posting record sales last year.
After reporting its biggest revenues ever in 2022, ASMPT SMT Solutions is setting the course for further business success. Dr. Martin Kruessmann succeeds as COO Josef Ernst, who has taken over the CEO position from Guenter Lauber, now Chief Digitalization & Strategy Officer of the ASMPT Group. Josef Ernst is pleased to have brought a proven expert on board in the person of Kruessmann: “Dr. Kruessmann is an internationally experienced top manager with sound leadership experience, a high affinity for technology, and an excellent understanding of markets and feasibilities across all industries. I look forward to working with him and Mike Moehlheinrich, our long-standing CFO, to further expand the outstanding market position of ASMPT SMT Solutions.”
“Standing still is not an option”
“First of all, I would like to express my respect for what has already been achieved – ASMPT and its SMT Solutions segment are in an excellent position. I look forward to contributing my many years of international project and operational experience to help build on this success in the future,” said Dr. Kruessmann about his appointment. As the new COO, the graduate engineer wants to concentrate on ASMPT’s achievements as well as on the new challenges facing the SMT market: “The further development of the business is a continuous process. Good processes can become better and very good ones can become perfect, standing still is not an option,” said Kruessmann.
From Mercedes-Benz to ASMPT
Dr. Kruessmann began his professional career in vehicle development. First at Mercedes-Benz AG, then at smart GmbH, he was responsible for drive technology in various management positions. When he moved to Bosch GmbH and Bosch Rexroth AG in 2012, he soon assumed technical responsibilities at executive management level. Most recently, he was the Senior Vice President and Strategic Project Manager for the alignment of the China business at Bosch Rexroth AG.
This East Asian experience will surely come in handy at ASMPT. The top manager with broad industry experience in the automotive, forming and process engineering industries has a deep knowledge of mechanics and electronics. He knows how electronics manufacturing works and is familiar from his professional past with ASMPT’s core markets such as the automotive and manufacturing industries.
Dr. Kruessmann is also open to necessary changes: “Change should help you to continuously improve and become better than the competition. My role as part of a whole is first and foremost to consolidate the success of ASMPT SMT Solutions, make us more resilient, and satisfy our stakeholders and shareholders.”
To learn more about ASMPT, please visit us at asmpt.com.
