Who or what has been your biggest influence in your career to date?

Starting with the what, my first job in the gas industry was with BOC Benelux. I joined at the very beginning and helping to build the company from scratch was a great way of learning to understand the gas business.

Knowing how the majority of our customers do their business is very valuable for me now.

As for who, my first boss at Chart, Gerd Kirchgässner, taught me how important it was to get everyone in the company to understand what the effect of their work was on our customers. Once people understand that, it becomes a lot easier to maintain a high level of quality and keep people motivated.

What’s next?

Easy question, since 1st August (2011) GOFA is part of Chart and although the present management is still running the company and we have no big changes in plan, the integration process will take up a lot of my time.

We are very happy with this acquisition; GOFA is focusing at the high quality end of the trailer market and can now sell and service their products worldwide through Chart’s network.