“My task is clear: to make Aerostructures fit for the future in view of the new market conditions and lower production rates.”
5 March 2021: Ralf Drees is appointed as theHead of Aerostructures at RUAG International. He will take over from Dirk Prehn who will be leaving RUAG Aerostructures after six years of service.
Commenting on his appointment Ralf Drees said, “My task is clear: to make Aerostructures fit for the future in view of the new market conditions and lower production rates.”
Recently Ralf Dreesturned around a site in France at the STS Group with sales of around 180 million euros and a negative EBIT within one and a half years. He can draw on expertise from more than 20 years in the automotive and aviation industries.
André Wall, CEO of RUAG International, said, “With Ralf Drees, we are gaining a manager who is hands-on and will also implement the necessary strategic adjustments in close coordination with our main customers. In doing so, we will benefit massively from his expertise in lean management, the Toyota Production System and value stream mapping.”
Ralf Drees began his career with MTU in Munich, where he held various positions for 13 years before joining BMW-Rolls Royce in 1992. This was followed by positions as plant manager for Caradon in Austria and Holland and as production manager for ABB and later Fairchild Dornier and Colfax. In 2007, Ralf Drees moved to the Dräxlmeier Group as plant manager and in 2010 took over the Chief Operation Officer role for Boshoku Automotive GmbH. His last two positions were with aircraft systems supplier FACC Operations and plastics manufacturer Polytec Composites.
