A conversation with Felix Scholz, Managing Director: from Apprentice to Managing Director
A conversation with Felix Scholz, Managing Director: from Apprentice to Managing Director
A conversation with Felix Scholz, Managing Director: from Apprentice to Managing Director
A conversation with Felix Scholz, Managing Director: from Apprentice to Managing Director
In 2022, we published an interesting interview with Felix Scholz, who at the time, was Vice President (VP) of Service. Now, less than two years later, he has risen one step further up the corporate ladder. Since April 2024, Scholz has been the Managing Director of the Gear Technology and Automation Systems Division in Saline, Michigan for North America. His extraordinary rise from Industrial Mechanic Apprentice to Managing Director does pique one’s curiosity. In this interview, we’ll learn how Felix has been getting on these past two years, how his promotion came about and what his daily challenges look like.
Felix, your rise through the ranks of Liebherr has been meteoric to say the least – from your apprenticeship as an industrial mechanic at the Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH headquarters in Kempten, Germany, to Vice President of Service in Saline, Michigan, to your current role as the Managing Director of Liebherr Gear and Automation Technologies, Inc. and your career is only just beginning. Tell us how you became promoted to Managing Director.
In the first few years after my apprenticeship at Liebherr, I had the opportunity to move to the US. I traveled all throughout North America, first as a Service Engineer, then as a Service Manager. I was also able to build out my network of industry contacts while gaining professional experience and expanding my knowledge of the industry.
My work style has always been very solution-oriented and I’ve always been open to change. Some of the optimization projects I was able to accomplish in the Service Department caught the attention of the Board of Directors. Ultimately, this resulted in me being offered the position of Managing Director of Liebherr Gear and Automation Technologies, Inc., which I gladly accepted. I really appreciate the trust they’ve placed in meand I really value their support – which I think will be key to leading the North American Gear Technology and Automation Systems Division successfully in the future.
Your career has obviously been on a very ambitious trajectory. What motivates you?
Laughs. To be honest, I basically grew up in business. When I was a kid, I often hung out with my grandpa and watched him run the family business. Our family lived in an administration building, so I got to know the business world at a very early age. I was in the office, saw the logistics operation and was always in contact with all the different areas of business. Maybe I inherited my business sense from my grandpa – “business mindedness” was just something that was always in me from an early age.
What role has Liebherr played in your career until now? How did the company support you?
Liebherr showed a great deal of faith in me right from the beginning. I had the good luck of having a first-class education, starting with my 3.5 years apprenticeship to become an Industrial Mechanic, and then being able to develop both personally and professionally afterwards. At every turn, Liebherr has always supported me and given me new opportunities that have advanced my career. Even now, in my role as Managing Director, I’m given continual access to training and other tools that will help me to succeed in this next chapter of my professional life.
What are your responsibilities as Managing Director?
My daily tasks include supporting the team and taking care of our customers’ needs of course. But my main job, as I see it, is to put the company on a path towards a secure future. That means developing innovative strategies and initiatives, studying the market, analyzing the competition and keeping an eye out for new trends so as to successfully adapt our division’s global strategy to the North American market. The important thing is to continue Liebherr’s strong history of success, which we have worked for many years to establish, while simultaneously smoothing the way into the next era of our industry.
How is the Liebherr Saline organization structured?
Clearly, our focus is on our customers, which is why Sales and Service are central to our activities. We also have assembly and retooling departments in the Gear Technology and Automation groups. Beyond that, we have a Project Management and Engineering Team in the Automation group as well as a Purchasing department for local purchases.
In total, we employ 70 employees at our site. Beyond our office in Saline, Michigan, we opened a small, second office in Mexico in April 2024 to increase our local presence for that market and our customers there.
Which specific challenges have you dealt with in your current role? What are our challenges in the US at the moment?
The market is always changing – we all remember the supply chain challenges we faced during and after the pandemic. We currently find ourselves in a bit of a transitional phase, as the developments in the automotive market are unclear. We’re paying close attention to how demand in the US is being divided between combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles and what sorts of added value each technology offers.
However, we’re not completely dependent on the automotive industry since our diverse product portfolio allows us to supply different industries. In the past few years, a lot of investments have been made in trucking (transportation) in order to satisfy regulatory requirements on emissions.
However, the biggest challenge currently is finding qualified Service Engineers. We don’t have enough trained technical staff who both possess the necessary expertise and are prepared to travel for work which takes time away from their family and friends.
Success requires active recruiting and working with headhunters, among other things.
Which changes or optimizations would you like to see carried out for the Saline site or the US market in general?
Our customers come first and it’s important to us that we’re providing them with the best service possible. Fast reaction times are key for us, regardless of the issue. That’s why we work closely with the departments headquartered in Kempten, who can help us when we don’t have all the answers. In order to always be able to keep our customers up-to-date, good communication is the be-all and end-all. I’d like to expand and continue to optimize our customer service.
Is there anything that really stands out as a highlight that you can tell us about in your new position?
Yes, absolutely! The opening of our new office in Querétaro, Mexico – to expand our Sales and Service for the Mexican market and to be closer to our customers.