Christian Molch: From cutting machine operator to managing director
Christian Molch, born in 1965 in Schwandorf near Regensburg in Bavaria, completes an apprenticeship as a machining mechanic at a precision tool manufacturer after elementary school in 1980. “The shiny, fine surfaces, the small tolerances and the precision fascinated me even back then,” he remembers to this day. He later obtains his secondary school certificate and his vocational baccalaureate, and after his military service he studies mechanical engineering in Regensburg. In 1994, he was already working on a quality management system in his degree dissertation - DIN ISO 9001 was still largely uncharted territory at that time.
After completing his studies, Christian Molch returns to his former training company as assistant to the management. Two years later, he becomes production manager and, following the takeover of his employer by an US company, even plant manager. When Werner Stief, the founder and Technical Managing Director of MAPAL WWS, retires, Dr Dieter Kress was able to convince Christian Molch to move to Pforzheim. There, he initially becomes Technical Manager in 2008 and Technical Managing Director in 2010. He is pleasantly surprised by the great freedom he has compared to the corporate group before: “As long as there were no problems and things went well, our feeling was: Do what you want.”
As soon as Christian Molch comes on board at MAPAL WWS, the financial crisis of 2008/2009 puts a damper on business. However, they quickly regain momentum. From 2010 to 2018, turnover and the number of employees almost doubled - mainly due to MAPAL's worldwide sales activities and a strong increase in global OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) business. MAPAL WWS in Pforzheim is also expanded during this period to become the MAPAL Group's centre of competence for PCD tools.
Until then, the company is primarily growth-driven. Since 2019, the focus lies on stabilising MAPAL WWS and reducing costs. With the strong support of Dr Jochen Kress, the company begins to optimise production logistics processes and production technologies in 2021 in order to achieve and sustainably ensure significantly reduced throughput times and improved delivery reliability while having higher production figures. The fact that staff will have to be reduced in 2021 is causing Christian Molch, now also responsible for commercial tasks at MAPAL WWS as Managing Director, sleepless nights. But this step is necessary; capacity must be adapted to market requirements.
And as far as further positive development and securing the future at MAPAL is concerned, Christian Molch is absolutely convinced that the “strategic issues that Dr Jochen Kress has initiated will keep the company innovative and allow it to grow again in the future”.