Schmitz Cargobull gears up for growth

German trailer builder, Schmitz Cargobull, is expanding its presence in key markets and has also confirmed recent executive appointments.

Frank Reppenhagen has been appointed Managing Director – UK & Ireland, effective 1 April 1 2025, extending his role as Regional Director for Western Europe.

His appointment is designed to support the company’s growth and strengthen its focus on customer-centric solutions.

Reppenhagen, who began his career at Schmitz Cargobull in 2001, has extensive experience in the region, having previously led the UK & Ireland team from 2012 to 2017.

The company will also enhance operations at its assembly facility in Manchester, where it manufactures three specialised semi-trailer models for the UK & Ireland markets, being the S.CS FIXED ROOF curtainsider semi-trailer, the S.CS FREEPOST ‘pillarless’ curtainsider semi-trailer, and the S.BO PACE dry freight box semi-trailer.

The S.CS FREEPOST ‘pillarless’ curtainsider semi-trailer is manufactured in Manchester and designed specifically for UK & Ireland customers. Image: Schmitz Cargobull.

The Manchester plant will now be brought more closely into Schmitz Cargobull’s wider European production strategy, a move that underscores the importance of these two markets. This repositioning aims to boost efficiency and sustainability.

Meanwhile, the Schmitz Cargobull AG Supervisory Board has appointed Ralph Kleideiter as the company’s Chief Sales Officer (CSO), effective from 1 April 2025, where he will be the board member responsible for the company’s Sales Division.

“Since it opened in 2021, our Manchester plant has enabled us to cater specifically to the needs of operators in the UK and Ireland, offering tailored products that have been very well received,” said Kleideiter.

“We are now aligning the site more closely with our European production strategies to better support our growth and the needs of our customers in these vital markets.”

Ralph Kleideiter. Image: Schmitz Cargobull.

Schmitz Cargobull CEO, Andreas Schmitz, said the team is delighted for Kleideiter to take on new responsibilities.

“He has been leading the division on an interim basis since August 2024 and knows the industry and the company inside and out,” he said.

“We feel confident that, with his extensive experience in management and sales, he will help to steer Schmitz Cargobull successfully into the future.”

Kleideiter has been working at Schmitz Cargobull since December 2001, taking on a number of roles in sales and leadership and becoming a familiar face in the industry. Until late 2008, he was working in sales for Central and Eastern Europe before going on to run operations at the Greek subsidiary in Athens for about two and a half years.

In 2011, Kleideiter was appointed as head of technical sales for tipper semi-trailers at the Schmitz Cargobull plant in Gotha, where, in 2016, he became head of the Construction & Agriculture product line. He then led the General Cargo product line in Altenberge from April 2021.

The Schmitz Cargobull underwent more changes, with Yvonne Seggewiss replacing Manuel Terhürne on the Supervisory Board, as of 1 April.

Seggewiss, who is a member of the Works Council at the Vreden plant, already held the same role between April 2013 and September 2019 and is now stepping in as an employee representative on the Supervisory Board.

Terhürne, a Supervisory Board member since September 2019, is leaving the board at his own request after having taken on the role of head of production at the refrigerated semi-trailer production plant in Vreden.

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