Toni Schmücker

Toni Schmücker ( born April 23, 1921 in Frechen, † November 6, 1996 in Bergisch Gladbach ) was a German industrial managers.

Life

According to the medium maturity Toni Schmücker made ​​a commercial apprenticeship at Ford plants in Cologne- Niehl, where his father was working. From 1942 he worked as a volunteer in the war, by 1945 he was again employed by Ford in Cologne in purchasing. In 1950 he became head of department there and at the age of 39 years (1961 ) Board member. To a manager not to be forced to the essential activities in American firms in foreign locations, he moved on March 1, 1968 in the Board of the Rhenish Steel Works (Rhein steel) in Essen - in August of the same year he became CEO. After an extensive renovation of the company, which led to the merger with the Rhine steel competitor Thyssen 1973 Schmücker was a board member of Thyssen and entered on 10 February 1975 as the successor of Rudolf Leiding to the post of CEO of Volkswagenwerk AG.

VW was at the time a restructuring case: In 1974, the loss amounted to DM 807 million; the U.S. sales had declined by 30 percent, utilized the works of only 60 percent - mass layoffs of up to 25,000 VW employees were before. The closure or sale of the Audi / NSU factory in Neckarsulm could be prevented by rigorous austerity measures and staff reductions: in Neckarsulm and the VW plant in Brussels we went on the single shift. At the same time managed Schmücker to establish the Golf-/Rabbit-Produktion in the U.S., but this was met with the unions on resistance.

Immediately after the beginning of its activities in Wolfsburg, VW K - 70 production was stopped and Audi positioned as a "premium " brand. Middle of 1975 were the plans for the developed on behalf of VW Porsche successor to the VW - Porsche 914 at his instigation to Porsche sold. the car was marketed later as a Porsche 924. to prevent the threatened closure of the Audi / NSU factory in Neckarsulm, Schmücker made ​​it a condition that Porsche there the 924 can be finished on a contract with engines from VW / Audi. During the following he had years in addition the VW Derby ( 1977) and Jetta bring (1979 ) on the market.

Schmückers course proved successful: already in August 1975 VW wrote back in the black; In 1976, the Group of 2.1 million vehicles here and made ​​a profit of 1 billion DM in Wolfsburg Schmücker was nicknamed " Toni, the trickster ".

In January 1982 Schmücker resigned from office, his successor came to Carl Hahn.