The successor for Dr Eduard Sailer has been announced

Last September Dr Eduard Sailer announced his retirement. Now his successor has been selected: The new Executive Director for Technology for the Miele Group will be Dr Stefan Breit, 49, who is currently Managing Director of the appliance manufacturing plant in Gütersloh. The changeover will take place at the end of the year.

Eduard Sailer had held various managerial positions in the Thyssen Concern and with AEG domestic appliances before he joined Miele in 1998 in his current position. To enable a smooth transition to be planned for the change in generation, the 60-year-old announced his plans for retirement more than a year in advance. An expression of appreciation for the exceptional service that Eduard Sailer has given with regard to the expansion of the international manufacturing network and the products developed in this context has been reserved for a later date.

Stefan Breit began his industrial career with the electronic and mechatronic specialist company Kostal in Lüdenscheid. Prior to this, he studied mechanical engineering at the RWTH Aachen University (main focus on production technology) where he gained his Dr.-Ing. engineering doctorate. He joined Miele in 2007 at the Bielefeld factory where one year later he was appointed head of domestic dishwasher production, and from the start of 2009 he was promoted to head of the factory.

Under his leadership, the product range there was extended and reorganised, and considerable productivity and growth successes were achieved. In May 2015 senior management appointed him as head of the largest factory in the Miele Group at the company headquarters in Gütersloh. Having gained experience in these positions, Stefan Breit now has an extensive knowledge of the three core product groups with the highest sales figures, washing machines, domestic dishwashers and vacuum cleaners. His depth of knowledge also includes the Miele Professional business area, because the Bielefeld product range also includes commercial dishwashers and washer-disinfectors.

In order to achieve a gradual takeover, Stefan Breit will join the senior management team with effect from April 1, 2016 as Deputy Executive Director for Technology. Full handover will take place at the end of the year. Until his successor has been named, he will continue to hold the position of the Managing Director of Miele’s appliance manufacturing plant in Gütersloh. Stefan Breit is married and has two children.

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Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. This line-up is augmented by dishwashers, washer-extractors and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications (Miele Professional). The Miele company, founded in 1899, has 8 production plants in Germany as well as one plant each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China and Romania. 2014/15 turnover amounted to approx. EUR 3.5 bn with sales outside Germany accounting for around 70%. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries. The Miele company, now in the fourth generation of family ownership, employs a workforce of around 17,740, 10,350 thereof in Germany. The company headquarters are located in Gütersloh/Westphalia, Germany.