Felsomat USA, Inc. announces the appointment of Patrick Seitz to the position of president. Effective on January 1, 2014, Seitz takes over from Richard Gilchrist who started Felsomat USA, Inc. in 2002 and held the position since that date. Gilchrist will remain on a reduced schedule as chairman while providing managerial and consultative support to the management team in order to achieve a smooth transition.

Patrick Seitz, a native of Switzerland, studied mechanical engineering at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich where he obtained his masters degree. His enthusiasm for automobiles resulted in an internship at Audi and the compilation of his thesis at Lamborghini.

After completing his studies in 2007, Seitz joined Reishauer AG in Wallisellen, Switzerland as an application engineer where he managed projects for Skoda, Ford, and Toyota. Transferring to Reishauer Corporation (Elgin USA) in 2008, he served as a product manager of major projects such as Ford and Toyota in addition to providing technical sales support.

In 2012, Reishauer and Felsomat obtained significant orders from ZF in South Carolina. Seitz played a key role in the management of this project where he gained experience in the wide range of Felsomat machines and automation products. During this process Seitz was appointed “President Designate” and he officially joined Felsomat in the spring of 2013.