On 1st July 2008 the supervisory board of MOBA Mobile Automation AG in Limburg, Germany, appointed Dr. Holger Barthel, Alfons Horn and David Shelstad as new members of the executive board of MOBA AG and named Volker G. Harms president. Willibald Sehr dropped out of the executive board to build up and manage the corporate division “Innovation Management”.  

MOBA AG is one of the leading international producers of sensor technology, measurement engineering, control and feedback control systems as well as weighing and identification systems for mobile applications e.g. in construction machinery, cranes and lifting platforms, municipal community vehicles and agricultural machinery. In the last ten years the company was able to increase its turnover from 11.9 million Euros (1997) to 41.2 million Euros (2007). At the same time it expanded its workforce from 99 employees to approximately 300 employees. MOBA AG was founded by Paul Harms in 1972 as an engineering office in Steinbach near Limburg. Today the company is an internationally accepted system specialist and OEM manufacturer.

“The new formation of the executive board was the logical consequence of the increasing internationalization and globalization of our business”, says the newly appointed president Volker G. Harms. After completing his studies in business administration, Volker G. Harms joined the Allgemeine Kreditversicherung Coface AG (Credit Insurance Company Coface AG) in Mainz to gain work experience. In 1993 Harms joined the company of his father and became commercial director of the Dresden branch office. In 1994 Harms became chief executive officer of the MOBA Data GmbH. In 1999 he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, USA, where he founded the subsidiary company MOBA Corporation with his wife Jutta Harms. In 2004 he took over the management of MOBA Mobile Automation AG from his farther Paul G. Harms. Together with Willibald Sehr, Volker Harms represented the company as members of the board.

Dr. Holger Barthel joined MOBA AG in 2008 and is vice-president manufacturing and logistics. He is an industrial engineer with a doctorate degree, who worked for the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Engineering and Automation in Stuttgart. He was responsible for the department corporate logistics, production planning and control. Earlier in his career he worked for the Robert Bosch GmbH for several years.

Alfons Horn was appointed vice-president engineering and development. After he completed his studies in electrical engineering, Horn worked for the Eurotherm Deutschland GmbH in Limburg to gain work experience. In 1983 he joined MOBA and successfully built up the research and development department. Today more than 60 development and software engineers worldwide belong to this department.

Since October 2007, David Shelstad is responsible for the global sales and marketing of the business area “Construction” of MOBA AG and was appointed vice-president sales and marketing. Shelstad was born in the US, used to work for Caterpillar Paving Products Inc. and TSD Integrated Controls (both Minneapolis, Minnesota). He has more than 10 years of work experience in the sales and marketing of the international construction vehicle industry. Shelstad has Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering and also a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

For further information on the company and its products see www.moba.de.

Company Facts

Company name: MOBA Mobile Automation AG

Place of business: 65555 Limburg, Germany

Board of directors:

Volker G. Harms, President
Dr. Holger Barthel, Vice President Manufacturing & Logistics
Alfons Horn, Vice President Engineering & Development
David Shelstad, Vice President Sales & Marketing

Chairman of the supervisory board: Paul G. Harms

Total revenue (in 2007): 41.2 million Euro (MOBA Group)

Number of employees (in 2007): 287 (MOBA Group)

History:

1972    Foundation of the engineering office Paul Harms in Steinbach
1985    Foundation of MOBA GmbH in Elz
Start of international business activity and foundation of various foreign branches and subsidiary companies
1990    Foundation of MOBA Dresden GmbH
1994    MOBA Data GmbH
2002    Merger of the different companies to MOBA Mobile Automation AG
2004    Move of the MOBA AG headquarters to Limburg-Offheim

Business field:

• Construction
• Waste & Logistics
• Agriculture

Branches: Dresden and Langenlonsheim, Germany

Subsidiary companies:

1985    MOBA Electronic s.r.l, Italy
1998    MOBA France, France
1999    MOBA Corporation, USA
2001    MOBA (Dalian) Mobile Automation Co. Ltd, China
2002    MOBA-ISE Mobile Automation SL, Spain
2004    MOBA India PVT.LTD, India
2007    MOBA Mobile Automation GmbH, Switzerland