CEO Ulrich Zahoransky Retires After Four Decades
After nearly 40 years in a leadership role, Ulrich Zahoransky (71) will step down from the Executive Board of ZAHORANSKY AG as planned on December 31, 2025, handing over management entirely to Ric Nachtmann (Chief Financial Officer) and Dr.-Ing. Heinrich Sielemann (Chief Technical Officer). With the appointment of these two executives approximately a year ago, the ZAHORANSKY Group took a decisive step toward ensuring a stable and future-oriented development. For the first time in the company's history, renowned expertise in technology and management is being combined without the direct involvement of a family member on the Management Board – a significant milestone in the company's 123-year history.
Ulrich Zahoransky looks back on an impressive career: After studying industrial engineering at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences and holding positions in accounting and IT at other companies, he followed his father Heinz Zahoransky’s call to join the family business in 1988. He quickly took on more responsibility and, starting in 1991 as a Management Director in ZAHORANSKY KG and from 2003 as a member of the executive board of ZAHORANSKY AG, decisively shaped the strategic direction of the ZAHORANSKY Group. His era was marked by the construction of new production facilities in Germany, India, and Spain, an increase in the number of employees from 370 in 1995 to over 920 in 2020, and a tripling of revenue to up to 140 million euros. In addition, Zahoransky strengthened the company’s presence in key markets through international sales and service subsidiaries in the USA, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Brazil – which improved customer service and boosted sales. Zahoransky also consistently pushed ahead with the entry into new business areas such as automation and medical technology, as well as the development of pioneering digital solutions. Also worth highlighting are the long-standing partnership with one of the largest leading internation
Core values of a family business
At the same time, Ulrich Zahoransky has always stood for continuity and the core values of the family business: consistent apprentice training, for which the company received the “Best Place to Learn” award, employee share ownership in the company's success, and the cultivation of corporate culture have had a lasting impact on his work. This also includes social commitment and the company's aid organization, through which employees and the company have supported social institutions with more than €1 million since 1970. Despite the economic challenges of recent years, the connection to the employees and the location has remained strong. “We are and want to remain a family business with strong values, even though now, after 123 years, there is no longer a family member on the board for the first time,” says Ulrich Zahoransky. “We set the course for this with the conversion to a stock corporation in 2003. With the two board members Dr.-Ing. Heinrich Sielemann and Ric Nachtmann, we are well positioned for the future and can offer our employees secure jobs.”
Setting the course for the future
With the end of 2024 started long-term handover to the new management team, the company is ideally positioned for sustainable growth and innovation. ZAHORANSKY AG intends to further expand its leading role as a manufacturer of molds, machines, and systems in the oral care industry, the brush/broom market, and medical technology. The aim is to intelligently combine technical, development, and service expertise and to strengthen the company's international presence. The Management Board and Supervisory Board are looking forward to the tasks and challenges ahead with confidence. ZAHORANSKY AG would like to thank him for his decades of commitment and wishes him happiness and good health in this new chapter of his life.
