Certainly. I started with Bayer in Uerdingen in 1981 with an apprenticeship program in the commercial area, which I finished in 1984. During the next years I worked in different production fields for Bayer while studying in evening classes, receiving some more commercial diplomas.

After serving my mandatory time in the German army I changed to the Bayer headquarters in Leverkusen, working in Marketing and earning another commercial degree. Then I spent almost a year in the USA with a scholarship from Bayer.

Returning to Germany I worked in various fields of business, like Marketing, Production Staff, Controlling and Logistics. My last job was Global Head of Logistics for Industrial Products. In 1998 I relocated to the USA, working for 5 years in Pittsburgh/PA for Bayer Corporation.

This assignment included Marketing & Sales activities for pigments and dyes as well as a Managing Director position for Bayer's Imperial Color Group.

I returned to Germany in 2003 and became the Managing Director of Bayer Fibers, which then was carved out as Dorlastan Fibers, with production sites in Germany and USA.

I prepared the sale of this business and on July 1, 2005 I joined Reliance and Trevira. On Sep 1, 2005, I took over as the CEO of the Trevira Group.

The general trend in the European textile industry towards ongoing consolidation has not bottomed out yet. The final abolishment of quotas in the textile industry and increased imports from China have imposed further pressure on manufacturers. The man-made fibres industry has, in addition, to cope with continuously rising raw material prices. It is no longer possible to produce commodities, sell them at competitive prices in Europe, and make a profit. The future of Europe's textile industry lies in the development and production of hi-tech materials, new end-uses and in new markets for its specialties.

This is not a theory anymore, but reality. But, and we have to remember this every single day, should only be true for commodities. If we stay innovative and close to our specialty customers in Automotive, home textiles, nonwovens/Technical and Apparel we cannot be attacked by Chinese competitors. Our customers do understand that we supply much more than spools and beams, we do supply a full package of service, understanding of needs and partnership to our key customers.