Markus Ehrmann

In my current role as Director, I’m responsible for the Inside Sales, Engineering, Quality and Compliance team on all daily aspects.

I have 23 years career experience working in the field of electrical, lighting and automation manufacturing. During this time I have held various leadership roles in Quality Management, Compliance and Sales Management. After spending 10 years at the corporate office in Germany I moved to the USA in 2008 where I’m responsible for the USA as well as Canadian operations.

I have tenure in internal and supplier auditing on a global level including suppliers in India, Netherlands, UK, Norway, and Canada. In my time in the US I developed a robust and efficient service team. In the development process I performed services myself in construction sides in Angola, Brazil, Korea, Papua New Guinea, Australia and others.

To stay on top of a competitive work environment I have recently completed the Credential of Readiness (CORe) at Harvard Business School, the Executive Leadership Program at Cornell University as well as Six Sigma and Lean at Technical University Munich. Currently I’m enrolled at the MicroMasters Program, Principles of Manufacturing with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

I enjoy working in a global company and global environment. I enjoy being involved in many aspects of the business from the executive level to interactions with customers, vendors and the after-sales.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE & ACCOMPLISHMENTS

For more than 80 years STAHL has fulfilled a unique role in protecting lives and property in harsh and hazardous classified locations. STAHL is a leading manufacturer of explosion protection equipment and systems ranging from terminal boxes to control panels. STAHL covers all protection methods and all international certifications underlining the competence and allow the products and systems to be used worldwide.

Director Sales Services, Quality and Certification (USA) (11/2018 – Present)

Director Quality and Certification (USA & Canada) (06/2015 – 10/2018)

Management Representative (USA) (05/2010 – Present)

Management Representative and Ex-Representative (Canada) (08/2015 – Present)

Ex-Representative (USA) (08/2009 – Present)

Houston, Texas, United States of America

Area of Responsibility Sales Services

• Lead all customer service and engineering team for the United States as well as Latin America
• Budgeting, Profit & Loss
• Establishing KPI’s for all groups
• Implementation of improvements in the sales processes
• Setting, tracking and reporting of sales targets and KPI’s
• Lead, mentor, recruit, develop and train staff
• Develop customer relationships and facilitate executive engagement to support customer success
• Headcount: 4 direct reports (managers), total headcount: 20

• Re-organization of inside sales team into two independent operating groups for Quotations and Order Management
• Re-established department KPI’s

• Maintaining company QMS, ISO 9001 certification activities and Quality Audit Program
• Maintaining company production QMS in regards to hazardous location requirements ISO/IEC 80079-34 (ATEX/IECEx) and NEC and CEC
• Leading root-cause analysis and other problem solving activities to identify effective corrective actions and process improvements
• Managing QA, QC, internal / external audits and customer FAT’s
• Developed / delivered training to technical staff in conducting inspections and ensuring procedures are understood, carried out and documented
• Developed / delivered training to employees as to their impact on the quality management system
• Leading supplier evaluation process (supplier selection, evaluation, auditing and approval)
• Leading regulatory compliance reviews of electrical equipment for North American
• Providing technical support to engineering, production and sales with product approval and regulatory questions
• Guiding the organization in the development and use of KPI’s that support compliance and drive continuous improvement
• Headcount: 1 direct report (manager), total headcount: 8

• Achieved cETLus Panel Shop Certification for Industrial Control Panels and Control Panels for Use in Hazardous Locations
• Resulting in internal lead time improvement of 2-3 weeks and higher profits
• Cancellation of existing certifications resulting in annual savings of >40k USD
• Led the transitioning of the US and CA site from ISO 9001:2008 to ISO 9001:2015 compliance status
• COPQ reduction by over 50% over a 5 year time period
• Successfully achieved product certification for various projects such as
• Statoil Peregrino Brazil Project (Order value >250k USD, 5x control panels, certification achieved within one week). Negotiated reduced certification rate to maximize profit
• Culzean Field Development Project (Order value >160k USD, 7x control panels, certification achieved within one week). Negotiated reduced certification rate to maximize profit

• Ensuring a regular review of compliance with the requirements of ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 80079-34 (ATEX/IECEx)
• Signing declaration of conformity for ATEX Zone 2 and US Class I, Division 2
• Implementing and monitoring the QMS at the US and Canada site
• Inclusion and right of veto in the supplier assessment and contract review with explosion protection relevance
• Right of veto against delivery of defective Ex products

Houston, Texas, United States of America

Area of Responsibility

• Maintained company QMS, ISO 9001 certification activities and Quality Audit Program
• Maintained company production QMS in regards to hazardous location requirements ISO/IEC 80079-34 (ATEX/IECEx) and NEC and CEC
• Managed QA, QC, internal / external audits and customer FAT’s
• Developed and trained technical staff in conducting inspections and ensuring procedures are understood, carried out and documented
• Led regulatory compliance reviews of electrical equipment for North American compliance
• Provided technical support to engineering, production and sales with product approval and regulatory questions
• Headcount: 5

• Restructured the Quality Management Department and integrated the Quality Management System (ISO 9001) and achieved certification to ISO 9001:2008 as well as ISO/IEC 80079-34
• Led successful ISO 9001:2008 re-certification audit.
• Successfully implemented cULus Panel Shop for Industrial Control Panels, Control Panels and Assemblies for Use in Hazardous Locations
• Successfully implemented supplier evaluation program (selection, evaluation, audit, approval)
• Successfully achieved product certification for various projects such as
• Canada Hebron Project (Order value 1M USD, 24x control panels, certification achieved within one week). Negotiated heavily reduced certification rate (60% below normal rate)
• Australia LNG Projects (Order value >650k USD, 8x control panels, certification achieved within one week).

Waldenburg, Germany

Area of Responsibility

• Worked with international certification agencies to achieve Ex product certifications (ATEX, IECEx, GOST, INMETRO etc.)
• Prepared technical files for the certification process including detailed technical description, bill of materials, drawings, test reports, data sheets and component certificates
• Prepare work instruction, procedures and process descriptions

TRAININGS

• Harvard Business School – Credential of Readiness (CORe) - (2021)
• Cornell University – eCornell – Executive Leadership Certificate - (2020)
• IESE Business School – University of Navarra – Coursera – Organizational Behavior: How to Manage People - (2019)
• Wharton – University of Pennsylvania – edX – Business Strategy – Competitive Advantage - (2019)
• Babson College (BabsonX) – edX – Business Principles and Entrepreneurial Thoughts - (2019)
• Technical University Munich (TUMx) – edX – Six Sigma and Lean: Quantitative Tools for Quality and Productivity - (2019)
• Babson College (BabsonX) – edX – Financial Decision-Making for Leaders - (2019)
• BSI Training – ISO 9001:2015 – Lead Auditor (TPECS) - (2017)
• Exemplar Global College – Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) - (2017)
• Exemplar Global College – ISO 9001:2015 – Transition Assessment (Auditor) - (2016)
• Exemplar Global College – An Introduction to PDCA - (2016)
• University of South Florida – OSHA Training Institute – 10 Hour OSHA Outreach Training for General Industry - (2016)
• University of South Florida – OSHA Training Institute – 10 Hour OSHA Outreach Training for Construction Industry - (2016)
• ASQ – Introduction to Quality Engineering - (2015)
• Dale Carnegie Training – Leadership Training for Managers - (2014)

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Technical Management - (10/2003 – 01/2006)
• Apprentice Program - Tool Engineer - (09/1998 - 06/2001)
• Apprentice Program - Business Management (09/2001 - 06/2003)