Oschatz Announces Change in Management
04/09/2014 - After exactly 20 years at the head of the company, Dr.-Ing. Hans-Jürgen Schrag, managing partner of the Oschatz Group, handed over the management to the next generation with an official ceremonial act.
In the festively decorated workshop of the Essen, Germany, plant construction company, in front of about 250 invited guests, he symbolically passed the baton to his successors: Dr.-Ing. Jan-Christopher Schrag, eldest son of the family and new family entrepreneur in the third generation, and Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Albrecht, who most recently held the position of technical director at Oschatz. Together the two of them will be taking charge of the future destiny of the internationally operating plant manufacturer.
This in no way means a farewell for Dr. Schrag senior, however, and he left no doubt about this right from his welcome speech: “Today we are celebrating an occasion that does not really live up to its name,” he said, opening the program. “After all, we are not yet saying farewell, it is more a change of roles.” Schrag will be with the company for at least another two years as an advisor, on hand with help and advice for his successors. “Executive chairman” is what the new business cards say.
He had to vacate his office as of April 2014, however — for his son, Dr. Jan-Christopher Schrag (39), who has been part of the company since the beginning of 2008 and was most recently responsible for new business transactions around the globe as head of sales. In addition, Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Albrecht (49) moved in on the executive floor. He has now been working for the company for more than 15 years and today knows it like the back of his hand.
“We are looking forward to the new task and working together more closely,” says Dr. Jan-Christopher Schrag, new managing director of the Oschatz Group. “My father has achieved a great deal over the past 20 years and has made a lasting impression on this company. Oschatz’s growth and strength are thanks to him — not least because of the international focus that he shaped as managing director. As the new management we want to pick up right there and together lead Oschatz into a successful future.”
The odds for the future are certainly good, since today Oschatz is a successful, globally operating company with around 1,400 employees and locations from Denmark to Australia. The sustainable products of the Essen plant manufacturer are in tune with the times. The focus is on energy recovery, on the productive utilization of waste heat and on energy from refuse. These are subjects that are gaining increasing significance all over the world.
For more than 60 years, the family business has been based in Essen and its roots can be traced back to the year 1849. Today production is carried out in Turkey, China and the Czech Republic, and the customers are located in all parts of the world. If you want to keep up personal contact in such a situation, you have your hands full. Dr. Schrag senior found some rather impressive figures for that: “On average, I have gone round the world about ten times a year for Oschatz,” he calculated for his listeners. “In 20 years as managing director that makes about 8 million kilometers, which is as much as going to the moon and back ten times.”
The new management also wants to continue to maintain and strengthen the personal contact with employees around the globe. “Together we want to take hold of Oschatz’s future, mold it and shape it according to our wishes,” says Dr. Jan Schrag. “But always on an equal footing. After all, Oschatz is a family business and it should stay that way.”
The old and new management of the Oschatz Group from left to right:
Oschatz is an innovative company that operates globally in the fields of plant construction, energy recovery and environmental technology. With more than 160 years of experience, 1,400 employees, as well as numerous subsidiaries and representative offices all over the world, Oschatz is market leader for waste heat systems in the product areas of iron and steel metallurgy, non-ferrous metallurgy, environmental and chemical technologies.
This in no way means a farewell for Dr. Schrag senior, however, and he left no doubt about this right from his welcome speech: “Today we are celebrating an occasion that does not really live up to its name,” he said, opening the program. “After all, we are not yet saying farewell, it is more a change of roles.” Schrag will be with the company for at least another two years as an advisor, on hand with help and advice for his successors. “Executive chairman” is what the new business cards say.
He had to vacate his office as of April 2014, however — for his son, Dr. Jan-Christopher Schrag (39), who has been part of the company since the beginning of 2008 and was most recently responsible for new business transactions around the globe as head of sales. In addition, Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Albrecht (49) moved in on the executive floor. He has now been working for the company for more than 15 years and today knows it like the back of his hand.
“We are looking forward to the new task and working together more closely,” says Dr. Jan-Christopher Schrag, new managing director of the Oschatz Group. “My father has achieved a great deal over the past 20 years and has made a lasting impression on this company. Oschatz’s growth and strength are thanks to him — not least because of the international focus that he shaped as managing director. As the new management we want to pick up right there and together lead Oschatz into a successful future.”
The odds for the future are certainly good, since today Oschatz is a successful, globally operating company with around 1,400 employees and locations from Denmark to Australia. The sustainable products of the Essen plant manufacturer are in tune with the times. The focus is on energy recovery, on the productive utilization of waste heat and on energy from refuse. These are subjects that are gaining increasing significance all over the world.
For more than 60 years, the family business has been based in Essen and its roots can be traced back to the year 1849. Today production is carried out in Turkey, China and the Czech Republic, and the customers are located in all parts of the world. If you want to keep up personal contact in such a situation, you have your hands full. Dr. Schrag senior found some rather impressive figures for that: “On average, I have gone round the world about ten times a year for Oschatz,” he calculated for his listeners. “In 20 years as managing director that makes about 8 million kilometers, which is as much as going to the moon and back ten times.”
The new management also wants to continue to maintain and strengthen the personal contact with employees around the globe. “Together we want to take hold of Oschatz’s future, mold it and shape it according to our wishes,” says Dr. Jan Schrag. “But always on an equal footing. After all, Oschatz is a family business and it should stay that way.”
The old and new management of the Oschatz Group from left to right:
Dr. Jan-Christopher Schrag, Dr. Hans-Jürgen Schrag and Andreas Albrecht.
Oschatz is an innovative company that operates globally in the fields of plant construction, energy recovery and environmental technology. With more than 160 years of experience, 1,400 employees, as well as numerous subsidiaries and representative offices all over the world, Oschatz is market leader for waste heat systems in the product areas of iron and steel metallurgy, non-ferrous metallurgy, environmental and chemical technologies.
