Freudenberg Sealing realigning board following CTO departure

Weinheim, Germany – Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) is realigning its management board following the decision by chief technology officer Dr Theodore Duclos to retire.

Duclos will retire from the company on 30 June after more than 25 years of service, FST said in a 23 May statement.

Recognised for championing lean systems, flexible manufacturing and core technology at FST, Duclos has agreed to continue in an advisory role with Freudenberg’s e-Power Systems Business Group.

Duclos, according to CEO Claus Moehlenkamp, was particularly influential in driving the company’s transformation into a supplier of products and solutions for electrified powertrains and in the development of the battery and fuel cell systems for heavy-duty commercial vehicles.

“His early advocacy and implementation of systems such as one-piece flow and digitalisation on the shop floor have helped establish a nimble manufacturing environment,” he said.

Duclos joined the Freudenberg Group in September 1996 as corporate technology director at Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies in Plymouth, Michigan.

After holding several successful management positions within the company, he was promoted to VP and general manager of the global fluid power division in 2011.

He was additionally appointed president of Freudenberg-NOK in 2015 before taking up his most recent position as CTO and management board member of FST in Weinheim in 2016.

In 2019, Duclos additionally assumed the position of chief operating officer and fulfilled the responsibilities of the COO until April 2021.

Effective 1 July Dr Matthias Sckuhr, COO of FST, will additionally assume the role of CTO for the company.

The management board will then consist of three members: Claus Möhlenkamp (CEO), Ludger Neuwinger-Heimes (CFO) and Dr Sckuhr (COO/CTO).