Montana Aerospace AG has named Dr. Christian Preslmayr as Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective September 1, 2026. He will report directly to the company’s Board of Directors.
The newly created COO role will focus on industrialisation, automation, production efficiency and operational performance as Montana Aerospace scales its aerospace manufacturing operations.
The company has invested approximately EUR 800 million over recent years to develop a vertically integrated production platform for aerospace components and complex assemblies. With aircraft, defence and space production rates increasing, the company is now focusing on improving productivity and scaling its manufacturing capacity.
Michael Tojner, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors and member of the Executive Management Board of Montana Aerospace AG, highlighted, “With Christian Preslmayr, we are gaining an internationally experienced industrial executive with proven expertise in automation, robotics and industrial scaling. For more than ten years, he has held entrepreneurial responsibility as CEO of Alpine Metal Tech within our industrial group and has played a key role in the company’s successful development. His many years of leadership experience and proven expertise in scaling industrial organizations will be instrumental in unlocking the full potential of Montana Aerospace’s integrated production platform and making automation and Operational Excellence key growth drivers for the Group.”
Preslmayr will oversee the Group’s operational strategy, strategic projects, crisis management and production-site structure. His responsibilities will also include automation, procurement, investment decisions and the development of manufacturing processes.
He will also lead efforts to implement Operational Excellence and Lean Management practices across the Group, with the aim of improving the utilisation of existing production capacity and strengthening manufacturing efficiency.
Preslmayr brings more than 40 years of experience in industrial manufacturing, plant engineering and mechanical engineering. Since 2015, he has served as CEO of Alpine Metal Tech Group, a manufacturer of plants and special-purpose machinery for the steel, automotive and aerospace sectors, with expertise in automation, robotics, camera and laser applications.
Previously, he served as Senior Vice President Global Operations and COO at Voith GmbH, where he was responsible for global operations, procurement and Operational Excellence activities across 41 operations in 18 countries.
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Preslmayr said, “Montana Aerospace has established an impressive position as a vertically integrated one-stop-shop supplier to the aerospace industry. I am very much looking forward to working with the team to further industrialize our manufacturing sites, systematically expand automation and take operational excellence to the next level, enabling us to reliably meet our customers’ increasing build rates.”
The move comes after CEO Kai Arndt resigned in April. Chairman Michael Tojner has since taken on the role of Executive Chairman and joined the Group Management Board.
