After working for 15 years as the CPO of WAFIOS AG and one year as consultant of two WAFIOS AG subsidiaries, Martin Holder has been elected the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the WAFIOS AG. He succeeds Hanns-Gerhard Rösch who has headed the committee for more than two decades with great expertise and foresight. Martin Holder is starting a new era that continues this successful work.
Hanns-Gerhard Rösch joined the company in October 1976 as Assistent to the Executive Board and took over the Management of the company from 1980 through 1998. After the company changed its legal form to a stock corporation, Rösch served as a member of the Executive Board until December 2005. In January 2006, he assumed the position of Chairman of the Supervisory Board, a role he held to this day. As a shareholder, member of the Executive Board, and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Rösch shaped the growth and development of WAFIOS and its eleven subsidiaries over the course of decades. Thanks to the foundations he laid, the company is today able to successfully navigate this economically challenging period in the mechanical engineering industry. His humanistic principles, combined with his focus on innovation, created an exciting and motivating environment for the company’s employees, offering them a wide range of career options. He played a key role in helping the company grow into a global leader in the field of wire and tube processing.
At the special general meeting held on February 27, 2026, the shareholders unanimously elected Martin Holder a member to the Supervisory Board. At the immediately following meeting of the Supervisory Board, Holder was appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
In 1973, at the age of 15, Holder began his apprenticeship as a mechanic at WAFIOS. His career is a prime example of how employees can work their way up within a company all the way to the Executive Board. His career spanned a variety of fields, including Information Technology. In 2009, Holder was made a member of the Executive Board and was put in charge of the Production, Logistics, and Planning Departments. As a member of the Executive Board, Holder demonstrated strong leadership skills, a high level of expertise, and assertiveness, as well as a consistently fair and compassionate approach toward employees. After retiring in January 2025, Holder remained with the company as a consultant and continues to be active in the Employers' Associations Südwestmetall as Chairman of the Reutlingen District Group.
Regarding the election of the new Supervisory Board member, Martin Holder, CEO Dr. Weigmann summarized the statement made at the general meeting as follows: “We would like to express our special thanks and highest appreciation to Hanns-Gerhard Rösch for his outstanding work over so many years.” At the same time, we are delighted that our former board member, Martin Holder, will remain so closely connected to WAFIOS AG and will draw on his experience and expertise in this important role.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions and exceptional dedication, Rösch was elected an honorary member of the Supervisory Board by the shareholders at the general meeting.
