Heidenheim, Germany: The Voith Group is picking up speed as it taps into new opportunities for growth in the realm of ‘Industrie 4.0’. As announced by Voith Hydro’s parent company,Voith, during its December 2015 annual press conference, the new digital agenda of Voith includes the establishment of a new Group Division, Voith Digital Solutions.

The new Voith Group Division, Digital Solutions, consolidates all group-wide digital and automation activities. Voith wants to play a decisive role in shaping the digital transformation in all of its sectors and markets. As of January 1, 2016, Dr. Roland Muench, member of the Corporate Management Board of Voith GmbH, who has been President of Voith Hydro since 2007, is leading this newly created Group Division, Voith Digital Solutions.

The new President of Voith Hydro as of January 1, 2016 is Uwe Wehnhardt. Mr. Wehnhardt joined Voith in 2007 and has been a member of the Global Management Board of Voith Hydro since 2011. Prior to joining Voith he held various international management positions at Procter & Gamble and the Alfred Kaercher company.

“As new President of Voith Hydro, I will do my best to continue the success story of Voith in the field of hydropower globally,” states Uwe Wehnhardt. “The new digital competence of Voith will enrich Voith Hydro’s product and solution competencies and take automation solutions for Voith’s customers to the next level.”

Along with the change at the president level, other personnel changes at Voith Hydro include: new Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Voith Hydro as of January 1, 2016 is Dr. Tobias Keitel. He succeeds Uwe Wehnhardt in this position. After studying industrial engineering continued by a doctorate at the Technical University of Berlin, and completion of a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at École Supérieure de Commerce in Paris, Dr. Keitel worked for the Boston Consulting Group and MAN Ferrostaal AG. In 2010, he joined Voith as project manager in the Hydro Division. Since 2011, he held various management positions and became Head of the Business Unit for new Large Hydro projects in 2014.

In October 2015, Martin Andrae became Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Voith Hydro. He succeeds Juergen Sehnbruch who went into retirement after more than a decade of successful work for Voith Hydro in this position. Martin Andrae studied electrical engineering at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and at the Technical University of Munich, and held various senior management positions at Siemens AG in Germany and Brazil from 1983 to 2000. In 2000, he joined Voith Hydro‘s German operating unit and became its Chairman of the Board in 2003. In 2010, he was appointed President and CEO of Voith Hydro Shanghai Ltd. in China. In his new role as a member of the Global Management Board of Voith Hydro, Martin Andrae is in charge of sales, market intelligence and product management.

Hydropower is the largest, oldest and also most reliable form of renewable energy generation. Worldwide it makes an indispensable contribution to stable power supplies and hence to economic and social development – both in industrial countries and in emerging markets. At the same time, hydropower significantly contributes to climate-protecting energy generation.

Voith has been a leading supplier of this technology since the early beginning, and continuously develops it further. Voith sets standards in the markets for energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials, transport & automotive. Founded in 1867, Voith employs more than 20,000 people, generates €4.3 billion in sales, operates in over 60 countries around the world and is one of the biggest family owned companies in Europe.*

* Excluding the discontinued Group Division Voith Industrial Services.