Managing Director for Research & Development
Born in Ludwigshafen, I studied mechanical engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and earned my doctorate in electrical engineering materials.
Before joining TRUMPF as Head of Lifecycle Engineering, Product Quality, and Production Platforms, I built experience in the industry and advised as a product development expert at McKinsey.
"My personal drive is to digitise classical mechanical engineering, to merge machine and software and unlock the full potential of sheet metal manufacturing."
Career Timeline
Active in the VDW Board and Technical Committee. Founded the VDW Digital Committee. Driving CECIMO's vision as Europe's digital manufacturing platform.
Responsible for Research & Development at TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen SE + Co. KG, with a focus on bridging hardware excellence with digital intelligence.
Joined TRUMPF as Head of Lifecycle Engineering, Product Quality, and Production Platforms, building the operational foundation for what would become a broader digital transformation agenda.
Advised industrial clients on product development strategy and innovation, building a cross-sector perspective on what drives excellence in manufacturing.
Led development of flight control and actuation systems at Liebherr Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH, gaining deep expertise in safety-critical engineering and high-precision mechanical systems.
Studied Mechanical Engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Doctoral research in electrical engineering materials.
VDW, German Machine Tool Builders' Association
As a member of the VDW Board and Technical Committee, I am convinced that the association must lead the digital transformation of the industry, not just observe it. In 2025 I initiated the founding of the VDW Digital Committee. Three initiatives define the agenda.
A newly founded working group connecting VDW member companies along three digital themes: Digital Twins, Data & AI, and Product Security.
ActiveA podcast series where I meet C-level executives from the Digital Committee, honest conversations about what leadership really thinks about digitalisation.
In DevelopmentA proposed open-source company under VDW leadership, building the shared digital infrastructure for the multi-vendor brownfield factory.
Draft VisionInitiative 1 · Digital Committee
The Digital Committee brings VDW member companies together to develop shared digital standards, exchange experiences, and advance best practices. Following the model of successful mechatronic standardisation through umati and OPC UA, the digital domain must now do the same.
"In the mechatronic world we have long worked together in standards. In the digital world, we find it very difficult. That has to change."
Virtual Machine Twin as the foundation. Test software versions virtually first, then deploy in the real world. Reduce downtime, avoid hardware damage from misconfiguration.
How do machine tool builders actually use data and AI? Shared architectures, data models, and open interfaces, moving from proprietary silos to a collaborative data economy.
Cybersecurity for industrial systems: shared standards, certifications, and protection architectures for the connected factory of tomorrow.
In-person kick-off at TRUMPF, September 2025, following the AMB Trade Show Stuttgart. The next steps for the Digital Committee will be defined together.
Initiative 2 · Smart Factory Co.
Manufacturing environments are increasingly digital, autonomous, and data-centric. But the current state of the art is blocked by proprietary silos and closed systems. In the mechatronic world we work in shared standards, it is time the digital layer does the same.
Smart Factory Host, Reference Architecture
Two managing directors: the VDW as legal MD and an operational MD elected for three years from the circle of company representatives.
Companies that contribute capacity help define the architecture. Early movers set the rules, rather than having to comply with someone else's.
Member companies get access to the shared infrastructure at cost price. No platform fees, no vendor mark-up, just the actual cost of running and developing the system.
The shared layer is infrastructure, like a road network. Every company still competes on the machine and application level. Collaboration on the base layer accelerates everyone.
Initiative 3 · Podcast
Digitalisation in mechanical engineering is not a technology problem, it is a leadership problem. Decisions about digital investment, open standards, and new business models are made at the C-suite level. But the people who have to implement them, engineers, project managers, middle management, rarely get to hear how their leadership really thinks about these topics.
That is the gap Chefsache Digital closes. In each episode, Tom Schneider sits down with a C-level executive from the VDW Digital Committee for an unscripted, honest conversation, no presentations, no prepared talking points. Just two people who know the industry, talking about what really keeps them up at night.
The goal is not to convince anyone. It is to build transparency: to help the people who build the machines of tomorrow understand the priorities, the doubts, and the decisions of the people who lead the companies behind them.
Season 1 · Episodes
Chefsache Digital is looking for C-level voices from VDW member companies. If you have a perspective on digital transformation in mechanical engineering, and are willing to share it honestly, we would love to have you on.
CECIMO, My Personal Vision
Europe's machine tool industry is being squeezed between closed US platforms and state-backed Chinese digital ecosystems. My vision: use CECIMO as the stage to build a sovereign European digital standard, through strategic media, CEO commitment, and developer activation.
The Strategic Imperative
Current State
European standards are fragmented. Proprietary US platforms dominate the software layer. China is building a state-coordinated digital manufacturing stack under its 15th Five-Year Plan. Without a unified European response, the industry risks permanent platform dependency.
Future State
Association + Open Source = Trust. In an industry defined by secrecy, building an open standard is a strategic weapon to counter global platform monopolies. CECIMO becomes the roof under which this is built, connected, collaborative, competitive.
The Core Mechanism
Target CEOs, DMG Mori, Bystronic, TRUMPF. Budget decisions for digital ecosystems are made at the top. A public commitment from a CEO shatters corporate inertia and signals to the entire organisation that digital is non-negotiable.
The "we've always done it this way" resistance lives here. This layer does not get convinced by arguments, it gets bypassed by top-down mandate. The podcast and media strategy targets the top precisely to break through this middle layer.
Once internal resistance is cleared by CEO mandate, tech teams are empowered to contribute to community repositories. Developers get what they want: authenticity, API-first architecture, and genuine Open Source governance with real co-determination.
The Dual-Audience Strategy
What they want: Vision, ecosystem business models, and investment ROI on Industrial AI.
The hook: "The Industrial Metaverse", Europe's answer to platform monopolies, built from the shop floor up.
What they want: Authenticity, API-first architecture, and Open Source governance with real co-determination.
The hook: Concrete GitHub documentation, not buzzwords, but working code.
The European Network
Critical Success Factors
CECIMO's strength lies in its neutrality. As a European umbrella organisation above any national or corporate interest, it is the only body that can build genuine trust across competing companies. The focus must be on concrete utility for the industry, not on promoting any single technology or agenda.
Establish clear rules immediately. Who owns the code? Developers require genuine co-determination, not a corporate committee dressed up as open source.
100% English for CECIMO-level content. Binding Spain and Italy is impossible if the platform remains an exclusive German-speaking island.
Extract highly technical "snacks" from C-level long-form content to directly target and activate developer communities, every episode feeds two audiences simultaneously.