Steffen Langer | Engineering services worldwide

Curriculum vitae

of your local consultant

Thanks to my many years of work experience in various well-known companies, I can offer you a variety of extraordinary services as an expert. From the introduction of new connection technologies to the management of process and plant start-ups - I support you reliably to guarantee maximum success for your company.

Personal data

Name	Steffen Langer
Address	Im Freschfeld 14 54296 Trier
Mobile	+49 172 2301555
Phone	+49 651 96796967
Mail	info@steffen-langer.de
Date of birth	15th January 1973
Place of birth	Coburg
Civil status	Married, 2 Children
Nationality	German

Professional background

10/2020 - to date	Manz AG, Reutlingen
Internationally acting special machinery builder specialized in integrated production solutions in the fields of e-mobility, automotive and indus-trial electronics as well as electronic consumer goods with approx. 1500 employees and annual sales of > € 300 million.
10/2020 - to date	Ramp-Up Manager
Responsibility for ramping up complex, interlinked plants (budget up to 100 million), responsible for the holistic commissioning of processes and modules. Overall responsibility for the commissioning organization of com-plete plants in the final phase at the customer's site. Ensuring the achievement of plant performance against defined KPIs Prioritization of technical issues & problems to optimize the existing technology Technical leadership of the commissioning engineers and all in-volved internal and external supporters Assessment of customer requests & changes regarding costs & fea-sibility
02/2020 - heute	Self-employed Engineer
Consulting & realization of all topics around laser technology. Fundamental development of joining techniques Consulting for joining and production technology Introduction of new joining technologies Management of process & plant start-ups Training of employees in new processes and new machine technology Laser safety training Integration of process monitoring
01/2020 - 09/2020	Laser on demand GmbH, Burgdorf
Internationally acting laser technology provider for special machine construction, process development and for rental and used systems; 10 employees and a turnover of approx. 1.5 million €.
01/2020 - 09/2020	Technical Manager
Assumption of responsibility for the development of a sales structure, responsible for comprehensive customer consulting; development of need-based concepts for technical inquiries. Main contact person for technical questions, customer support by phone or on site Increase of reactivity for inquiries Expansion of project acquisition and contract manufacturing Expansion of the used laser trade Development of a sales concept
01/2012 - 12/2019	Ceratizit S.à.r.l., Mamer
Worlwide aging producer of carbide and similar hard materials with roughly 9000 employees, 1200 of which are based at its Headquarter in Luxemburg.
01/2012 - 12/2019	Application Engineer R&D - business unit wear parts
New development of trend-setting joining processes (laser welding) for dissimilar materials and their implementation and integration in a pro-duction environment; main responsibility for competence development in all new joining processes. Commissioning and series start-up support of various resistance welding systems for production and for basic research Basic development and qualification of the joining process laser welding up to series maturity (18 months) Sole overall project responsibility for the industrialization of the laser welding process for the joining of dissimilar materials (plant volume approx. 1.5 million); procurement of a fully automated production cell with the target OEE >92%. Procurement, commissioning and series start-up support of a flexible prototype laser cell for the further development of more complex material combinations (approx. 0.75 Mio) Training and instruction of own employees in the new joining technology laser welding under consideration of safety aspects (laser safety officer) Intensive customer consulting at home and abroad in the course of new developments of welded products Carrying out metallurgical analyses of complex joints for internal and external customers Extensive patent searches for the validation of the FTO of the new joining technology; preparation of the technical contents of the successful patent Cost calculations for new manufacturing processes as a basis for make-or-buy decisions
09/2009 - 12/2011	ThyssenKrupp Bilstein Suspension GmbH, Mandern
Group-affiliated automotive supplier for the development, manufacture and the marketing of shock absorbers, springs and anti-roll bars with roughly 750 employees at its Mandern site.
09/2009 - 12/2011	Process developer for laser welding (laser safety officer)
Responsible for developing optimum welding parameters and continuously improving all related processes in the project triangle of quality, cost and time. Rapidly increased OEE from 75% to continuously above 85% Reduced internal scrap rate from roughly 5% to < 1.5% Improved external complaint rate from > 150 ppm to less than 40 ppm Consistent and specific application of many lean methods such as TPM, CIP, 5S etc.
10/2005 - 8/2009	ThyssenKrupp Tailored Blanks, Mandern
Newly founded supplier company for the associate plant Bilstein Suspension and other customers for welded three-dimensional shock absorber components, with 22 employees and a turnover of roughly € 3m.
01/2008 - 08/2009	Head of industrial manufacturing equipment and prototyping/deputy plant manager
Shifted the scope of tasks to create greater customer proximity and give the innovative laser-welding process a wider scope of application and the company faster growth; 4 employees. Developed laser welding up to production stage for Porsche AG as a replacement for the electron beam welding used previously Project planning of new plants and the related equipment for very individual customer applications
10/2005 - 12/2007	Head of production
Construction of production facilities and the entire plant, applying a greenfield approach; set up all production processes and procedures and all administrative workflows; 18 employees. Certification to ISO TS 16949, DIN EN ISO 9001 and environmental management 14001 achieved after only 12 months Increases in productivity of roughly 30% in 24 months Implemented a flexible multi-layer system while reducing fluctuation Reduced complaint rates from four-figure levels to roughly 100 ppm
04/2001 - 09/2005	ThyssenKrupp Drauz Nothelfer, Ravensburg
Group-affiliated manufacturer of customised vehicle body equipment, laser-welding systems and tools with roughly 2000 employees, 750 of which are based at the Ravensburg site.
01/2004 - 09/2005	Senior process engineer
Responsible for more complex systems and laser-welding techniques for very demanding Asian customers. Smooth integration of plant components provided by the customer, with intense focus on lean manufacturing methods in Japan (project duration: 2 months) Responsible for the processes and commissioning of a large plant (roughly €5m) belonging to a Korean client in Alabama, US as a copy template for two identical plants in Korea and China (4 months) Developed robot-driven laser welding in the course of an internal Group R&D project, up to the production stage (9 months)
04/2001 - 12/2003	Process engineer
Developed and commissioned laser-welding processes for individual client projects, predominantly from the automotive industry. Following a brief induction period, sole and full responsibility (covering quality, cost and time) for three major projects in southern Italy with an investment volume of over €3m, concluded successfully Trained client workforce in plant engineering, operation, quality and safety, in their native language (Italian) Further successfully international commissioning using extensive technical expertise, strong mental and physical stamina, a high level of persistence and above-average organisation and improvisation skills

Apprentice

1979 - 1992	Primary and secondary education Primary school Gymnasium Tuttlingen (secondary school) Final qualification: Abitur (roughly equivalent to A-levels)
07/1992 - 06/1994	National service, extended voluntarily
10/1994 - 02/2001	Fachhochschule Ravensburg-Weingarten - University of Applied Sciences Mechanical Engineering studies Final qualification: "Diplom-Ingenieur (FH)"; (graduate engineer)

Training

International welding engineer
Laser safety officer
Management by objectives
Six Sigma (Green Belt)
Lean manufacturing
TPM
Statistics
Business administration for engineers
Project management (PMI)
DoE
Robot programming

Foreign languages

Fluent business English
Fluent business French
Basics Italian

Hobbies

Sports (football, ice hockey, inline hockey, jogging)
DIY
Travelling