Sappi Europe announces the appointment of Thomas Kratochwill (45 years old) as the new Sales and Marketing Director for Speciality Papers. Austrian-born financial and corporate strategist Kratochwill will take over at the beginning of 2015 from his predecessor Rosemarie Asquino who, after 38 successful years at Sappi, is entering retirement.

Beginning in 2001, Aquino played a vital role in the growth of Sappi Speciality Papers, positioning Sappi as a clear market leader. Her deep trade knowledge and many years of experience, as well as her ability to develop and nurture strong partnerships, was valued by the Sappi team and its clients. In taking over this role, Kratochwill will continuing to expand the Speciality Papers Division at Sappi and further strengthen Sappi Europe's position as a leading competence centre for speciality papers and boards.

"We thank Rosemarie Asquino for her outstanding work. She has revolutionised the Speciality Papers Division at Sappi. Recently she was critical in designing and implementing the 60 million euro expansion of PM2," says Berry Wiersum, Chief Executive Officer at Sappi Europe. "As we move into the future, we will be placing our full trust in her successor, Thomas Kratochwill. With his natural vigour and expertise, he will take the Speciality Papers Division at Sappi to a new level and implement the agreed-upon strategy in full."  Rosemarie Asquino will be available until the end of July 2015 as an advisor on strategic issues.

De izquierda a derecha: Berry Wiersum – Rosemarie Asquino – Thomas Kratochwill

"My personal motto is: first listen, understand the customer, and then implement together. In this way, we can be an approachable and innovative partner in the tailor-made customer solutions sector, providing top quality and the highest service level. Packaging manufacturers, brand owners, designers and print finishers are set to profit even more intensively from the fact that Sappi is more than just a packaging material manufacturer", says Thomas Kratochwill. This includes innovative and sustainable product development that even more closely meets the requirements of today's packaging supply chain. With the higher production capacities from the PM2 expansion, Sappi is also strengthening its position as a long-term partner and manufacturer of consistently high quality paper and carton.

Thomas Kratochwill joined Sappi in 1995 in the Finance department, following his studies at KPMG. He soon became involved in financial systems and process optimisation methods, where he managed several system migration projects as a result of business expansion. In 2010, he succeeded Alex Thiel as project director, and in this role successfully led and implemented significant transformation initiatives for the group. Thomas Kratochwill is known for his pursuit of efficiency and his very structured approach to achieving objectives on time.