Changing of the guard at Sandler AG: As of January 1, 2023, Philipp Ebbinghaus, Chief Officer of both Finance and IT and CFO of the US subsidiary Sandler Nonwoven Corporation, will be a member of the management board. On December 31, 2022, his predecessor, board member Wolfgang Höflich will retire after 46 years with the company. Dr. Christian Heinrich Sandler (Chief Executive Officer since 2007), Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck (board member since 2012), and Philipp Ebbinghaus will continue shaping the company as new management board.

Huge thank you to Wolfgang Höflich

Wolfgang Höflich spent almost his entire professional life at Sandler. He started in 1976 as an assistant to the site management and seven years later rose to the position of site manager with full power of attorney. “Wolfgang Höflich has helped shape 46 of the 143 years of our company history and our development into a state-of-the-art nonwovens manufacturer – an amazing legacy. Since 1995, he has been responsible for the Production Division, initially as head of production, and from 2010, as a member of the management board,” explains Dr. Christian Heinrich Sandler, CEO of Sandler AG.

Wolfgang Höflich’s responsibility for the Production Division has already been taken over by Stephan Hopster in July 2022. As of January 1, 2023, Mr. Hopster will be reporting directly to CEO Dr. Sandler.

“On behalf of the family Sandler, would like to take this opportunity to thank Wolfgang Höflich most sincerely for his almost 50 years of dedicated service to our company. We wish him all the best for his upcoming retirement, especially good health, God’s blessing – and enough time to devote to his family and his hobbies, at last!” says Dr. Christian Heinrich Sandler.

Appointment of Philipp Ebbinghaus to the management board

Philipp Ebbinghaus will join the management board on January 1, 2023, as an executive who, as Dr. Sandler points out, has very successfully filled responsible positions within the company over the past ten years. Philipp Ebbinghaus had been assigned challenging tasks by the management board since 2013. For example, he was tasked with setting up the new US location in Perry, Georgia, he was appointed as Chief Financial Officer of the German headquarters and the US subsidiary, and, since the middle of this year, he has also been Chief Information Officer.

After studying economics at the University of Hohenheim, Philipp Ebbinghaus worked as a controller at E. Breuninger GmbH & Co. in Stuttgart, Germany for three years before starting in the family business in 2013. “Philipp had to live with the fact that we kept a particularly close eye on how he was developing – after all, as my nephew, he is part of the owner family! He can be proud of his successes so far, and he doesn’t shy away from difficult situations and challenges. I am particularly pleased that Philipp, regardless of his promotion, maintained respect for his colleagues, remained diligent and modest, and always regarded successes as team successes. He is characterised by strategic foresight and determination to achieve goals. He is not a yes-man, but also disagrees and fights for his ideas and teams. I think that’s good. It’s the only way to move forward!,” says Dr. Sandler.

Philipp Ebbinghaus is very pleased about the trust placed in him: “As a long-standing manager, I consider the appointment to the management board of Sandler AG as an honour and as recognition of the work I have done so far. Regarding my responsibilities from January 2023 onwards, I am determined to stay ahead of the game, along with the team. As far as our family business is concerned, I am committed to the legacy of my ancestors. When I was a child, my grandfather often took me along with him to the company. I look forward to my role as a member of the management board and to working along with my colleagues. My goal is to continue to actively shape future topics at Sandler, e.g., our commitment to sustainability or digitalisation – on the management board and with the entire Sandler team in Schwarzenbach and Perry.”