Gerald Vogt becomes new CEO of Stäubli Group

• January 15, 2021

Stäubli, a global leader in industrial and mechatronic solutions, is starting the new year with a new Chief Executive Officer. Gerald Vogt, previously responsible for the global business of the Robotics Division, will take over as CEO from retiring Rolf Strebel on January 1, 2021.

With Gerald Vogt, an experienced manager from within the company's own ranks will take over the management of the diversified and growing family-owned company. The 50-year-old Franco-German engineer and business economist has been responsible for the global Robotics business as Group Division Manager since mid-2016 and is already a member of the Group Management.

When he joined Stäubli almost 20 years ago, Gerald Vogt initially moved from the development and production site in Faverges, France, to the US for several years. As Division Manager he significantly expanded business for Stäubli Robotics North America. Afterwards he returned to Faverges as Head of Development before taking over responsibility for the German business as Head of Stäubli Robotics in Bayreuth.

To ensure a smooth transition and prepare for his future tasks as CEO, the Stäubli Board of Directors nominated Gerald Vogt as the designated successor to Rolf Strebel at the beginning of 2020. Since then, Gerald Vogt has accompanied the current CEO and is responsible for the introduction and implementation of the new business strategy for Stäubli until 2030.

"We are delighted to have found in Gerald Vogt a forward-looking manager with an extensive international experience and a clear entrepreneurial spirit who is already very well connected within the Group. He has our full confidence to further advance the business of the entire Stäubli Group worldwide," said Yves Serra, Chairman of the Board of Directors.

JANUARY 14, 2021

Is there life on Mars? Our customer Heathcoat Fabrics in the UK is helping NASA to find out!

14 January 2021

Heathcoat Fabrics Limited was selected by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to design and make a super high-strength and heat resistant parachute fabric for the Mars 2020 / Perseverance Rover mission. And Heathcoat chose a Picanol weaving machine for the development of its DecelAir™ parachute fabric. Picanol’s weaving machine is the perfect solution for the production of high-quality fabrics for technically demanding end uses. You can read the full story below.

Peter Hill, Director Woven Fabrics at Heathcoat Fabrics,explains: “The technical requirements for parachute fabrics to be used in space are increasing because the payloads to be delivered will increase in mass as NASA targets bringing samples back from Mars to Earth over the next decade. Higher mass payloads require stronger parachute fabrics with the minimum possible packed volume that are able to withstand an intense heating process which ensures that microorganisms from Earth do not contaminate other planets. These special parachute fabrics must also be able to withstand low temperatures in transit and then successfully deploy at supersonic Mach numbers at their destination.”

The end result of the development project was a fabric that was 30% stronger than competitor fabrics on a weight-for-weight basis before heat ageing and 80% stronger after heat ageing. The photograph above shows a Mars 2020 parachute made with DecelAir™ fabric from Heathcoat being tested in the largest wind tunnel in the world. Parachutes made with Heathcoat fabric were also successfully tested at high altitudes and supersonic speeds in order to simulate landing on Mars.

Mars 2020 was launched in July 2020 and it will land the Perseverance Rover on Mars in February 2021. During the mission, NASA intends to investigate the surface geological processes and history of Mars, including evaluating past habitability, the possibility of past life on Mars, and the potential preservation of biosignatures within available geological materials. Samples will be collected for eventual return to Earth.