Jean-claude Blumenau

VP of Regional Operations

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Saarlouis, Germany

Experience

May 2024 - Sep 2025
1 year 5 months
Middleton, United Kingdom

VP of Regional Operations

The Vita Group

  • 7 sites in 3 countries (FR, NL, IT) (€180m sales, 450 FTE)
  • Pure restructuring task (cost out, WC reduction, etc.)
  • Footprint consolidation (2024: 1 site closed in FR, 2025: closing 1 site in NL)
  • Reporting into the group COO
Sep 2023 - Present
2 years 5 months

Interim Manager and Consultant

Blumenau Consulting

  • Independent interim manager and management consultant with focus on special situations like restructuring, production transfers, plant closures, launch and task force management, etc.
Sep 2023 - Nov 2023
3 months
Osnabrück, Germany

Interim Site Manager

DP World

  • Temporary filling of a vacancy
  • Responsible for all intra logistics in the Volkswagen Osnabrück site
  • Stabilisation of processes and increase in vehicle production by more than 30% thanks to improved material supply to the assembly line
May 2022 - Aug 2023
1 year 4 months
On-site

Chief Operating Officer

Willi Elbe Group

  • Responsible for a global production network of 8 production sites representing €200m sales and 1000 FTE
  • Reduction of overhead / structure costs by reducing number of sites from 8 to 5, closure of Grabs site (CH) and Tamm site (DE) and relocation of production to the Kuklen site (BG), fix cost sharing in Valle de Santiago site (MX) based on Maquila agreement production for another Aequita portfolio company
  • Improvement of value streams to reduce inventories and shorten lead times, implementation of global capacity planning for strategic footprint decisions, 20+ internal relocation or outsourcing projects completed to improve value stream and reduce costs
  • Implementation of massive cost saving programs, savings of €8m in production identified by deep and detailed analysis of all processes and wastes as well as global multiplication
  • Building global acting teams in SCM and manufacturing engineering for local to global support
Jan 2018 - Apr 2022
4 years 4 months
Germany
On-site

Director of Operations

BENSELER Group

  • Responsible for 6 production sites in Germany representing €160m sales and 850 FTE
  • Reorganized two unprofitable profit centers: optimized material flow, planning, staffing, and improved contribution margin by 8% in 9 months
  • Led the full turnaround of Bogen site (€25M sales): new leadership team, lean processes, achieved EBITDA >10%
  • Initiated and rolled out a group-wide Lean Production System: created training programs, lighthouse projects in all plants, €100K+ savings per site within 6 months
  • Restructured Markgröningen site (€28M sales): interim plant lead, stopped financial losses, reached positive cash flow within 6 months
  • Awarded: shortlisted for the “Besser Lackieren” award
Sep 2014 - Dec 2017
3 years 4 months
On-site

BU Manager JIS-Operations

Eberspächer Exhaust Technology

  • Responsible for external European JIS plants (5 production sites in 5 countries representing a 3-digit million Euro sales and 230 FTE) at the operational and strategic level in terms of efficiency, quality, customer satisfaction and optimal use of resources
  • Led the strategic transformation of European JIS operations: standardizing structures and optimizing value chain efficiency through Lean initiatives, KPI-driven management, and internal change processes; successfully established a new plant in Slovakia to expand operational capacity and flexibility
  • Restructured the EU pipe bending footprint: relocating a full production unit (300 products, 13 lines, 120 employees) across four countries; built a new manufacturing segment in Romania from the ground up – ensuring seamless continuity and improved cost structure
  • Demonstrated strategic foresight, operational excellence, cross-border execution, and the ability to lead major transformations under complex conditions
Jan 2012 - Aug 2014
2 years 8 months
Germany

Manager Manufacturing Engineering

Tenneco Clean Air Europe

  • Responsible for all manufacturing engineering activities in Tenneco's Edenkoben plant, managing 35 FTE in manufacturing engineering and 30 FTE in the tool shop
  • Managed CAPEX of high two-digit million Euros per year
  • Industrialized commercial vehicle systems (CVS) exhaust after treatment systems in DE (no production so far in EU): won internal competition against LLC plants in Eastern Europe due to a clever manufacturing concept; Caterpillar Perkins: TIER 4 final (off-road) - €35m CAPEX; Scania: EU6 (on-road) - €20m CAPEX
Jan 2006 - Dec 2011
6 years

Manager Industrial Engineering

Schaeffler AG

  • Planning, industrialization and ramp-up of complex chassis modules: ball screw drives; mechatronic active roll control
  • Practice leader SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die): development of methods and tools for SMED as part of the lean production system; execution of 20+ workshops in EU; set-up time reduction of over 50%; reduction of minimum lot size and WIP, increase of flexibility
Oct 2002 - Sep 2005
3 years

Bosch Postgraduate

Robert Bosch GmbH

  • PhD thesis on scaling of lean production systems.

Summary

Dr. Jean-Claude Blumenau is a seasoned operations executive and interim manager with over 20 years of leadership experience in the automotive supply industry. He has a proven track record of delivering impactful results in complex industrial environments, especially during critical business phases such as restructuring, turnaround, production relocation, and post-merger integration.

Having held COO and VP roles across multinational manufacturing networks, Jean-Claude has successfully led operations across Europe and globally, overseeing sites with up to €200 million in revenue and up to 1000 employees. His hallmark is operational excellence achieved through lean transformations, cost reduction, and organizational realignment. Notable accomplishments include improving production by over 30% at DP World Osnabrück, leading plant closures and footprint consolidations across Europe, and achieving nearly €8M in production cost out at Willi Elbe Group through process optimization.

His leadership style is pragmatic and results-oriented, combining deep technical knowledge with strategic foresight and hands-on execution. Jean-Claude is recognized for building high-performing teams, implementing sustainable change, and delivering measurable improvements in profitability and efficiency.

Languages

German
Native
English
Advanced
French
Elementary

Education

Oct 2002 - Jun 2006

Saarland University

Dr.-Ing., Engineering · Engineering · Saarbrücken, Germany

Oct 1997 - Sep 2002

Saarland University

Dipl.-Ing. · Engineering · Saarbrücken, Germany

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