Miele announces Rebecca Steinhage to the Executive Board
– Current Head of Human Resources of the domestic appliance manufacturer takes over newly created executive unit Human Resources & Corporate Affairs
– The appointment as the sixth Executive Director of the Miele Group will take effect on July 1, 2022
WEBWIRE – Friday, July 15, 2022
Miele has very successfully developed in recent years, both in terms of sales and workforce. In addition, new business fields and subsidiaries have been added to the companys portfolio, and substantial measures have been made on key topics for the future, such as internationalisation, digitalisation and sustainability. In this environment, which is as challenging as it is full of opportunities, the appointment of Rebecca Steinhage as the sixth Executive Director further strengthens the power of the Gütersloh family-run company to shape and implement.
At Miele, Rebecca Steinhage has been leading Human Resources as Senior Vice President since 2019 with great success. In this position, she has not only further developed global HR work to fit the future, but also contributes valuable strategic impulses beyond that. As future Executive Director, she will be responsible for the newly created Human Resources & Corporate Affairs executive unit consisting of the four group functions Human Resources, Corporate Sustainability & Regulatory Affairs, Communications and Auditing. Rebecca Steinhage will continue with her responsibility as Senior Vice President Human Resources.
We are very pleased that we found in Rebecca an outstandingly suitable colleague from our own ranks for this challenging task who is highly esteemed, both personally and professionally, far beyond her current area of responsibility, says the existing Executive Board in its internal statement regarding the top personnel announcement, and we are looking forward to continuing working with her in the new constellation and wish her much luck and great success”
With effect from July 1, 2022, the Miele Groups Executive Board will have six members, consisting of Olaf Bartsch (Finance & Administration), Dr. Stefan Breit (Technology), Dr. Axel Kniehl (Marketing & Sales) and Rebecca Steinhage (Human Resources & Corporate Affairs) as well as the two Executive Directors and Co-Proprietors Dr. Markus Miele and Dr. Reinhard Zinkann. The Miele Group most recently generated sales of EUR 4.84 billion (fiscal year 2021) and employs more than 22,300 people in 50 countries.
Company profile: Miele is the worlds leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. Their product portfolio also includes dishwashers, air purifiers, washing machines and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications. Founded in 1899, the company has eight production plants in Germany, one each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China, Romania and Poland as well as two production plants belonging to its Italian medical technology subsidiary Steelco. Sales in the 2021 business year amounted to around 4.84 bn. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries/regions. Throughout the world, the family-run enterprise, now in its fourth generation, employs a workforce of around 22,300, of which approx. 11,200 employees work in Germany. The company has its headquarters in Gütersloh in Westphalia.
WEBWIRE – Wednesday, February 2, 2022 Hardly any other material is as easy to process and as versatile as plastic. Meanwhile, though, many are annoyed at the sheer volumes of plastic waste. In Germany alone, 227 kg of packaging are discarded per capita each year; 39% of this is plastic waste.[1] And although the Germans are often jokingly referred to as world champions in refuse separation, 51% of all plastic packaging is still not reused, landing as it does in incinerators.[2] This occurs despite the fact that plastics and in particular those used in packaging materials are ideal for recycling and reuse as so-called recyclates. How this works is demonstrated, for example, by Miele tumble dryers, care products and vacuum cleaner accessories.
For Miele as a family company driven by values, containing environmental pollution and climate change enjoys the highest of priorities and so does the sustainability of both products and their packaging. At the same time, Miele places not only the highest of demands on its products but also on packaging for example with respect to resilience, temperature resistance, protection against light and product safety. Cleaning products, for instance, must be able to withstand the strains of transportation and fluctuations in climatic conditions. Designing packaging in such a way as to not only meet these requirements but also reduce the burden on the environment is a huge challenge we must face proactively, says Christoph Wendker, Vice President Corporate Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs with the Miele Group.
In concrete terms, this means that Miele will consistently work on implementing the principles of a circular economy and reuse materials wherever this is possible without any relevant reductions in quality levels. The objective is to increase the volume of plastic recyclates to as much as 7,500 tonnes by 2025. Miele is at the beginning of a long journey which is not just about using recycled and recyclable materials in packaging but also in finished goods, Wendker continues. Where metals are concerned, the use of recyclates is already far advanced at Miele, and Miele is adopting the same approach on plastics with great conviction.
30% material savings thanks to new production processes
An impressive contribution is made by a newly developed floor module used on almost all new tumble dryer models. Thanks to an innovative production process in which nitrogen is injected into plastic, material savings of 30% are achieved whilst at the same time improving the stability of the component. And, since 2021, recycled plastics have been in use for the first time on the lid of this module. Over the course of a year, this mounts up to savings in the order of several hundred tonnes of granulate. Furthermore, at its Bielefeld production plant, the company is increasingly manufacturing vacuum cleaner accessories such as upholstery brushes, crevice nozzles, dusting brushes and special-purpose attachments from recyclate. The option of switching to recyclates is currently being examined for other accessories, including exhaust filters. The frame of the Hygiene AirClean filter on the new Boost CX1 vacuum cleaner is made from 100% recyclate.
PowerDisk: Packaging made entirely from recyclates
Customers also have access to cleaning and care products which are not only perfectly geared to Miele appliances but also feature environmentally friendly packaging. Miele has, for example, converted the PowerDisk container for use on dishwashers to 100% recycled plastic. Similarly, the packaging of other containers for dishwashing and laundry detergents has, for the most part, already been redesigned for the use of recycled materials.
Company profile: Miele is the worlds leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. Their product portfolio also includes dishwashers, air purifiers, washing machines and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications (Miele Professional). Founded in 1899, the company has eight production plants in Germany, one each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China, Romania and Poland as well as two production plants belonging to its Italian medical technology subsidiary Steelco. Sales in the 2020 business year amounted to around 4.5 bn (thereof 29.5% in Germany). Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries/regions. Throughout the world, the family-run enterprise, now in its fourth generation, employs a workforce of around 20,900, of which approx. 11,050 employees work in Germany. The company has its headquarters in Gütersloh in Westphalia.
Miele increasingly relies on recyclates
– Quantity of recycled plastics to increase to 7,500 tonnes per annum by 2025
– Dryers, cleaning products and vacuum cleaner accessories to lead the way
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