Wacker Neuson has confirmed Johannes Schulze Vohren as its North American regional president effective at the start of this year.

The move is part of a long planned succession process, with the initial appointment/promotion in mid-2015, allowing Schulze Vohren to work alongside retiring president Christopher Barnard for 6 months leading up to his retirement in January.

Schulze Vohren joined Wacker Neuson in 1994 as international field sales manager for south America and the middle east, after successfully handling a major business systems project he moved to the U.S. operation in 2000 as vice president of business systems, adding responsibility logistics three years later. In 2007 he was promoted to vice president of North American sales and product support, and then in 2012 became vice president and managing director of the US business, until his further promotion to the current role last July.

Schulze Vohren began his career with a 2-year stint at Andersen Consulting, before moving to Case New Holland in 1990 as product support specialist covering South America. He then moved to Tenneco for year before joining Wacker in 1994.

Group chief executive Cem Peksaglam said: “His experience and broad leadership skills made Johannes Schulze Vohren a natural choice to oversee the North American operation and ensure a smooth transition in leadership.

Schulze Vohren added: “Ongoing growth in our market place is built on a foundation of partnership with our dealers. The strength of our distribution network and our ability to provide a diverse product portfolio have always set us apart. We will continue to develop innovative, reliable, performance-driven solutions and equipment to support a variety of applications across different industries. This includes exceptional financing, training, technical service, warranty and aftermarket programs that complement our products.”