Umicore Metal Deposition Solutions Names Managing Director of Electroplating Business Line

Thomas Engert (left) and Michael Herkommer (right). Photo credit: Umicore Metal Deposition Solutions

Umicore Metal Deposition Solutions, a specialty materials company based in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany, has named Michael Herkommer as managing director of the electroplating business line. The previous managing director, Thomas Engert, is retiring at the end of August 2023 after 39 years with the company.

“The decision to focus on continuity with Michael Herkommer as the
new head of the business line electroplating is seen as a smart move,” Engert says. “With his many years of experience with the company and in the industry, I am confident he will ensure that the collectively developed goals of the company are achieved.”

Herkommer studied at Aalen University of Applied Sciences and earned
a master’s degree at the University of Manchester. He gained over a decade of professional experience at various companies in Germany and abroad before joining Umicore as a sales engineer in January 2005. As head of strategic business development, he was able to help shape the course of the electroplating business line before taking over responsibility for technical sales and the product portfolio in 2014.

Herkommer says he believes in a balanced approach for the business line. “I have many plans, and I welcome continuous change to implement them sustainably. Employees, service and material providers and partners should be able to contribute openly,” Herkommer says.

Herkommer has worked in sales throughout his professional career. He wants to continue to focus on a high level of customer interaction and exchange to recognize new industry requirements at an early stage. The company says he views customers as partners. For him, close cooperation is the key to understanding and meeting future market needs. “This is the only way to be successful and to develop each other further,” Herkommer says.