Change in the composition of Stadler’s Group Executive Board – Markus Bernsteiner to become new head of Stadler Altenrhein

Markus Bernsteiner is to take over the management of the Altenrhein plant. Markus Sauerbruch, the current manager, is leaving the company at his own request due to differing views on its further strategic development.

There is a change in the Group Executive Board of Stadler Rail AG. Markus Sauerbruch, Head of the Division Switzerland and CEO of the Altenrhein plant, will hand over the Altenrhein plant to Markus Bernsteiner, Head of the Division Components. The Division Switzerland will be managed directly by Group CEO Dr. Thomas Ahlburg on an interim basis. Markus Sauerbruch has decided to leave the company of his own accord due to differing views on its future strategic development.

Markus Bernsteiner (born in 1966) will take over the management of the plant in Altenrhein as well as continuing to head the Division Components. The Executive EMBA HSG has worked for Stadler since 1999 and has been a member of the Group Executive Board for 20 years. During this time, he has successfully performed a variety of management tasks at top management level. He has been in charge of the Division Components, which consolidates all internal supplier plants, since 2014.

As the new manager of the Altenrhein plant, he will first and foremost face a major move. The new plant in St. Margrethen in the Rhine Valley is currently under construction and should be ready for operation later this year.

Chairman of the Board of Directors Peter Spuhler and Group CEO Dr. Thomas Ahlburg would like to thank Markus Sauerbruch for his achievements and services over the past eight years and wish him all the best for the future, both professionally and personally. They are grateful to Markus Bernsteiner for his willingness to take on the new management role. «The Altenrhein plant will be taken over by Markus Bernsteiner, one of our most experienced managers. This site is of great importance to the Group, particularly on account of its expertise in double-deck trains,» commented Group CEO Dr. Thomas Ahlburg.

The Division Switzerland comprises the Stadler plants in Bussnang, Altenrhein, Erlen and Salt Lake City. Together, they employ well over 3,000 members of staff. The Altenrhein site to be managed by Markus Bernsteiner covers over 49,000 m2 of production and warehouse space, where around 950 employees develop, manufacture and assemble KISS trains, trams, metre-gauge rail vehicles and passenger coaches for the Swiss and international markets. The engineering department, with its 250 highly qualified employees, provides services for the entire Stadler group, partly through its role as a centre of expertise for all calculations and approvals. It also carries out development work for the vehicles produced on site.