PEOPLE WATCH In memoriam
A well-respected champion of the metalforming machinery sector , Charles Ian Ridgway , Life President of the Metalforming Machinery Makers Association ( MMMA ) in the UK has sadly died , aged 87 years old . Mr Ridgway , who went by his middle name of Ian , was Chairman of Group Rhodes , a company he grew from the management buy-out of Joseph Rhodes Limited in 1984 .
He was a passionate advocate of metalforming technologies and , for many years , a very active member of the British Power Press Manufacturers Association . His company , Joseph Rhodes , had been one of the founding members in 1947 .
In 1974 he became the association ’ s Chairman , holding the post for six years . During this time the association opened its doors to European companies associated with metalforming press production and changed its name to the Metalforming Machinery Makers Association ( MMMA ).
On the international stage , Mr . Ridgway became chair of the European Power Press Manufacturing Panel , hosting meetings in nine countries in a drive to establish a European standard for the sector . This work formed the basis of the CE mark developed for mechanical and hydraulic presses and press brakes .
In the late 1980s , Group Rhodes represented the UK on the working group that set the subsequent Annex 4 regulations of the Machinery Directive . In 1989 , Ian Ridgway was successful in lobbying the Minister of State for Trade , Lord Trefgarne ( later President of the Institution of Incorporated Engineers ) to establish a UK regulatory body to assess companies to the new standard .
In recognition of Mr . Ridgway ’ s services to the metalforming industry , the ultimate accolade that his professional association
could bestow was at an Annual General Meeting lunch in Birmingham in 2011 , at which he was invited to become the Life President of the MMMA .
He sat for several years on the Manufacturing Technology Association ’ s ( MTA ) exhibition committee , and chaired the local branch of the Engineering Employers Federation ( EEF ). Away from the engineering sector , he became chairman of the Wakefield Chamber of Commerce and a staunch supporter of Wakefield Cathedral .
Speaking about his father , the company ’ s current CEO , Mark Ridgway OBE , said : “ Dad enjoyed the industry in which he worked , but he was also very much a family man , very generous , loving and supportive , and always encouraging his children to play to our strengths . He was also a man of great conviction who believed in his own abilities and had great focus and attention to detail . He tried to instil that same confidence in others and was a great mentor and guide to colleagues past and present .”
He is survived by his wife of 60 years , Heather , and his children Mark and Jacqui , as well as three grandchildren and one greatgranddaughter . n
Changes at TRUMPF Machine Tools
There has been a change in leadership in the Machine Tool business division of high-tech sheet metal specialist , TRUMPF .
Stephan Mayer ( 40 ) is the new CEO Machine Tools ( CEO MT ) and succeeds Heinz-Jürgen Prokop ( 63 ), who left TRUMPF at the end of the fiscal year on 30 June 2021 , after reaching the age limit for members of the Group Executive Board . Stephan Mayer has been with TRUMPF since 2012 , initially as head of the Organisational Development and Production and Quality Management central departments .
On 1 July 2015 , Mayer took on the management of TRUMPF Hüttinger GmbH + Co . KG in Freiburg and led the subsidiary back to success . On 1 October 2017 , he returned to Ditzingen as managing director of production and purchasing at TRUMPF Machine Tools . Since 2019 , he has been responsible for all TRUMPF activities in China and manages the two locations in Taicang / Jiangsu and Jinfangyuan CNC Machine Co ., Ltd . ( JFY ) in Yangzhou .
Stephan Mayer studied mechanical engineering at the University of Karlsruhe from 2000 - 2004 , where he also earned his doctorate in 2007 - 2009 . Mayer , a native of Schramberg , worked in consulting at McKinsey & Company Inc . in Stuttgart from 2004 until he joined TRUMPF .
Stephan Mayer . Heinz-Jürgen Prokop . Marcella Montelatici .
Heinz-Jürgen Prokop started as head of the design department at TRUMPF Lasertechnik GmbH in Ditzingen , Germany , in 1988 and was VP / head of development / design and production at IHI-TRUMPF-Technologies in Yokohama , Japan , until 1992 . After holding various external positions as managing director at Thyssen / Krupp in Essen , Fritz Studer AG in Steffisburg , Switzerland , and Frigoblock in Essen , he returned to Ditzingen in 2012 as managing director of development and purchasing at TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co . KG . He has been a member of the Group Executive Board as CEO MT since 1 July 2017 .
Marcella Montelatici has been the managing director for sales and services in the Machine Tool business division of TRUMPF since 1 April 2021 . She also manages the TRUMPF Group ’ s
European subsidiaries . She succeeds Reinhold Groß , who had held the position since 2014 . She is responsible for the sale of machines , services , software , digitisation solutions and consulting on all aspects of networked manufacturing .
For Marcella Montelatici , customer satisfaction is paramount . She has been working at TRUMPF for 30 years . After studying linguistics and literature , she began her career with the high-tech company in 1990 as a management assistant at the Buccinasco site in Italy . After taking over management of the CAD / CAM department there in 1995 and the service department in 1997 , she was additionally responsible for the finance and HR departments as deputy managing director from 2002 . In 2012 , she became managing director of TRUMPF in Italy . n
10 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR September 2021