Umicore Metal Deposition Solutions has appointed Michael Herkommer as managing director of the Electroplating Business Line.

Herkommer has extensive experience in sales, having worked at various companies in Germany and abroad for over 10 years before joining Umicore as a sales engineer in 2005.

Over the years, he led various aspects of Umicore’s business. As head of strategic business development, he helped shape the course of the electroplating business line. In 2014, he also took over responsibility for technical sales and the product portfolio.

Having worked in sales throughout his career, Herkommer intends to focus on a high level of customer interaction and exchange to recognise new industry requirements at an early stage. He believes close cooperation with partners is the key to understanding and meeting future market needs. "This is the only way to be successful and to develop each other further,” he said.

Herkommer is succeeding Thomas Engert who will retire at the end of August 2023 after 39 years with the company. Engert successfully steered the fortunes of the Umicore Electroplating Group, a renowned supplier of products for electroplated precious metal coatings and matching electrodes that are widely used in the jewellery industry.