CARY, N.C. — Bühler Aeroglide announced April 24 it has selected Andreas Kratzer, Ph.D., as new president and CEO, effective April 1. Kratzer has been with the company for about 12 years, most recently serving as managing director of Bühler AG’s pasta and noodles business in Uzwil, Switzerland.

Kratzer succeeds Andy Sharpe, who was appointed to the position in November 2018.

“I look forward to helping the company continue to provide the most advanced processing equipment for the market, leveraging Bühler Insights with IoT solutions that are ready for the future,” Kratzer said. “As president and CEO, I will strive to bolster Bühler Aeroglide’s world class expertise, the gold standard in thermal processing solutions, to help our customers be profitable and continue to grow across all industries.”

One of Bühler’s main goals is to reduce energy consumption and waste by 30% by 2020.

“It’s an exciting time to take over the helm of Bühler Aeroglide, a place where entrepreneurship, accountability and innovation thrive,” Kratzer added.

Kratzer earned his doctorate in philosophy from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, where he also studied food science. He frequently contributes to food technology education at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, such as lecturing on the microstructure of pasta and design processing.

Read more about personnel changes throughout the industry.