Interroll hires IP head from Thyssenkrupp
Thyssenkrupp Elevator's previous head of IP, Stephan Kohlhof, is moving to the same position at Swiss company Interroll. The European patent attorney now heads the IP department at Interroll, which manufactures conveyor belts for the transport of products. At Thyssenkrupp Elevator, following the department's spin-off in spring 2020, a new management duo leads its IP department.
24 September 2020 by Christina Schulze
The hidden champion for luggage belts, Interroll, has hired a new head of IP ©Gerhard Seybert/ADOBE STOCK
From lift technology to baggage conveyors and sorting systems, reorganisation of the patent department of the Elevator Technology division at Thyssenkrupp entails further changes. In August, Thyssenkrupp’s head of IP in the Elevator Technology division, Stephan Kohlhof (45), joined Interroll.
Interroll moves forward
The Swiss company manufactures conveyor rollers, conveyor belts and sorting systems. It is well-known for its conveyor belt systems at airports. The industry is developing dynamically, particularly in the logistics of mail order and parcel services.
Stephan Kohlhof
Interroll has previously pooled its development and intellectual property rights in its own Innovation GmbH, a department in which developers and a patent engineer work. Stephan Kohlhof is the first patent attorney to join the company in the position of head of IP.
For Interroll, its main goals are to strategically re-analyse the patent portfolio and optimise the application process. It operates its R&D centre in Hückelhoven, near Mönchengladbach in the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The company also has production sites in Switzerland, Germany and China.
Changes at Thyssenkrupp
Thyssenkrupp, the core of the industrial group from the Ruhr area of Germany, spun off its Elevator Division in spring. Private equity houses Advent and Cinven bought the division. Subsequently, the IP division welcomed a new management duo. Nicolas Jacobi (40) is responsible for patents, including patent litigation in Europe and Africa, as well as in the Asia-Pacific region. Melanie Fischer-Endlich (36) is responsible for trademarks and designs globally.
In recent years, Thyssenkrupp has restructured its IP department and particularly its patent filing strategy. The changes formed part of a cultural change in how the group handles innovation. Last year, JUVE Patent interviewed Stephan Wolke, managing director of Thyssenkrupp Intellectual Property, about how the company is strengthening its patent attorney team, as well as its expanding its IP insourcing work.
