Touching the Surface
Brief news from the Klingspor World
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Change of leadership in marketing – Klingspor strengthens marketing and digital expertise
Christin Rabitz took over as Head of Marketing at Klingspor on 1 February 2026. The previous Head of Marketing, Holger Burkhardt, has taken on the role of Head of Commercial Data, Analytics & AI – a completely new division created with the aim of driving forward data-driven value creation at Klingspor. In his role as Head of Marketing, Holger Burkhardt had already comprehensively promoted the digitalisation of the department and brings with him a sound understanding of the commercial and operational processes within Klingspor’s commercial division. Christin Rabitz has been with Klingspor since 2018 and possesses extensive market and organisational knowledge. In various management roles within marketing, she has already successfully demonstrated her strategic and operational implementation skills on numerous occasions. In her new role as Head of Marketing, she will be responsible for the further development of global marketing activities.
David Schneider appointed new Head of Productivity Management
Following Jürgen Damster’s retirement, Klingspor has successfully appointed a successor from within the company. David Schneider brings extensive experience to the role and knows the internal processes inside out: for many years, he was involved in setting up and expanding the existing systems and worked closely with his predecessor. As a REFA specialist, he possesses in-depth methodological knowledge of lean management as well as extensive expertise in key Klingspor processes, ranging from buy-outs and bonus models to piecework structures. As Head of Productivity Management, Schneider will be committed to consistently reducing costs and shortening lead times whilst maintaining high quality and delivery reliability. He will also be responsible for the Continuous Improvement Process (CIP), thereby supporting ongoing optimisation. We wish him every success in his new role.
Successful 2026 Kick-Off Conference
From 3 to 5 February 2026, the field and office sales teams for Germany and Switzerland gathered in Haiger for this year’s kick-off conference. For three days, the focus was on strategy, market trends and practical workshops. In addition to an overview of the international situation and the 2035 strategy, current developments in e-commerce, marketing, research & development and ready-to-wear were presented. Digital topics such as the new website, online shop enhancements and lead generation also played an important role.
The second day was characterised by intensive teamwork in business development: case studies in automated grinding and successful product launches were discussed in groups, and lessons were drawn from these experiences. On the final day, the sales team provided information on current campaigns, how Salesforce works, master data optimisation and the 2026 targets.
In addition to the technical exchange, the conference offered plenty of scope for discussions, feedback and one-to-one conversations – an important foundation for a successful sales year in 2026.
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