The European pharmaceutical machinery manufacturer Romaco is seeking to gain a stronger foothold in China by expanding its operations division at the China facility in Changsha. Stefan Auernig has been appointed as new general manager of operations.
In his new role, he will be responsible for the solids process centre as well as for the production and development of technologies in China. As general manager, Auernig will share the running of the company with David Shi, who is in charge of sales and service centre in Shanghai. It is located on the premises of Truking, the parent company of the group.
Jörg Pieper, CEO, Romaco Group, said, “Stefan Auernig’s appointment as Romaco China’s new General Manager Operations goes hand in hand with the steady increase in demand for Romaco products in China and Asia. By increasing our local production capacity in this way, we’re creating ideal conditions for further growth. I’m confident that Auernig, who has a proven track record in the Chinese economic and business community, will continue to drive this development very effectively.”
Prior to joining the company, Auernig spent several years in management positions at European firms in China. A native of Austria, he headed the Quality, Purchasing and Logistics departments of Marti EPC Limited, a Swiss-based machinery and plant engineering company. Most recently, he was responsible for the Quality management at the Chinese branch of Zwilling J.A. Henckels in Shanghai. Mr. Auernig holds a Master’s degree in Production Science and Management from Graz University of Technology.
New faces at Romaco China
Dr Kuldeep Bhokare has been appointed new director processing. Indian-born Dr Bhokare has a doctorate in Pharmacy from Shivaji University as well as a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Annamalai University. He previously worked for twelve and a half years at Abbott, the international pharmaceutical group. Amongst other things, he was responsible for Global product design, development and technology transfer at Abbott’s Innovation and Development Centre in Mumbai. He will take over as Director of the processing laboratory in Changsha and also oversee training of laboratory technicians.
Ralph Gross is an experienced processing technology specialist, who emigrated to China from Germany for job reasons more than six years ago. Gross was made director of the company's China Customer Centre, which belongs to the Solids Process Centre, at the end of last year. His duties there include carrying out the FATs and SATs for all products which are made in Changsha. He also heads the China Technical Service department in Shanghai. Prior to joining, Gross was employed for more than eleven years as Product and Quality Assurance Manager at GEA Lyophil. He holds degrees in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from the University of Ilmenau.
Jörg Pieper underlines that, “Messrs. Auernig, Bhokare and Gross will be a huge boost for our Romaco China team. The combined expertise of our three new recruits when it comes to quality, processing and service will impact very positively on Romaco’s branding and position in the Chinese market.”