We are Gallus – Dr. Frank Michels

In mid-April 2009, Dr. Frank Michels took over as Managing Director of Gallus Druckmaschinen GmbH in the German town of Langgöns and also joined the Gallus Group management team. The 45-year-old German is married with two children.

Dr. Michels has wide-ranging experience of development activities, production operations and management responsibility.

Position:  

Managing Director of Gallus Druckmaschinen GmbH in Langgöns, Germany

Education:  

Degree in Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University
Doctorate in Engineering from the WZL (Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering) at Aachen University

Career:  

I have held various positions at mechanical and plant engineering companies in areas such as traditional machine tool manufacture, semiconductor technology and international plant engineering. My roles have ranged from development and branch manager to technical director.

Hobbies:  

My passions are hill walking in the summer and skiing in the winter.

Family:  

I'm married to Pia and have two daughters aged 11 and 12.

In mid-April 2009, you took charge of Gallus Druckmaschinen GmbH in Langgöns. How would you describe your first six months as a new member of the Gallus family?

It has been a rather eventful six months, but I certainly didn’t get bored!

What is an average day as Managing Director of Gallus Druckmaschinen GmbH like?

I can only plan my day to a very limited extent. Mostly, my time is completely dictated by day-to-day business developments. Things always turn out differently than expected. As a result, a great deal of flexibility is needed.

How do you meet the tough quality demands of customers and Gallus in your day-to-day work?

For the main part, we satisfy these high quality demands by working systematically with conviction and a direct approach.

How do you and Gallus Druckmaschinen GmbH ensure you remain at the cutting edge?

We listen and enter into active discussion with as many different parties as possible. Even well-established solutions are examined critically and we are always trying to make improvements in everything we do.

What do you see as your greatest challenges?

Internally, the challenge is creating transparency and openness in all areas to provide a basis for mutual understanding between the different cultures and thus the opportunity to develop as a company.
Externally, the main challenge is satisfying customers’ high expectations to the best of our ability.

How do you switch off? Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I get my energy from my family in that I try to spend as much time with them as possible.