Sumitomo Drive Technologies EMEIA is further developing its leadership structure. Eric Goos, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the SCG Group, is assuming increasing responsibility for the operational management and strategic development of SCG’s activities under the Sumitomo Drive Technologies brand. This move frees up time for Florian Butzmann. As CEO of the Strategic Business Unit Drive Technologies (DT-SBU) in the EMEIA region and CEO of the SCG Group, he will focus more heavily in the future on his group-wide board responsibilities and on strategic collaboration within the Mechatronics segment.

As of July 9, 2026, this division of responsibilities was also formally implemented: Eric Goos was entered in the commercial register as one of four managing directors of Sumitomo (SHI) Cyclo Drive Germany GmbH, the headquarters of Sumitomo Drive Technologies EMEIA in Markt Indersdorf. In this role, he will have formal voting rights on the SCG Group’s board. His role as COO and member of the SCG Group’s executive team remains unchanged. The goal of this reorganization is to anchor operational decisions more firmly in regional operations and to further expand collaboration within the European Drive Technologies structure.

Operational responsibility is being expanded

For Florian Butzmann, this move is the logical next step in a process that has already begun.

“Eric Goos has played a decisive role in shaping the development of Sumitomo Drive Technologies in the EMEIA region in recent years. Since this spring, he has been providing me with significant support in operational management and in developing our medium-term strategy. This frees me up to focus more on my group-wide board responsibilities and on further collaboration within the Mechatronics segment. His additional responsibility on the SCG Group’s board is therefore a logical next step,” says Florian Butzmann.

Focus on Collaboration in the Mechatronics Segment

With his group-wide board responsibilities, Butzmann is placing greater emphasis on the strategic development of the European Drive Technologies operations within the Mechatronics segment of Sumitomo Heavy Industries (SHI). These include the SCG Group, the Lafert Group, Invertek Drives, and other operations within SHI Europe.

The focus is on closer collaboration within the Drive Technologies business unit, the pooling of expertise, and the gradual development of shared services and processes with European sister companies.

Eric Goos also describes the future direction as a shared responsibility:

“I look forward to continuing to build on Sumitomo Drive Technologies’ success story in the EMEIA region together with our team. The demands on drive technology are changing rapidly. With innovative solutions, strong operational structures, and close collaboration with our customers, we aim to actively shape this development,” says Eric Goos.

Nearly two decades at Sumitomo Drive Technologies

Eric Goos has been with Sumitomo Drive Technologies for nearly 20 years. From 2008 to 2016, he worked for Hansen Industrial Transmissions N.V. in Edegem, Belgium. He then served as General Manager of the Belgian facility until 2026, overseeing both operational and strategic initiatives—ranging from efficiency and process improvement programs to the facility’s further development. In addition, he was actively involved in the European industry association EUROTRANS for several years, including serving as its president.

The Executive Team is responsible for operational development

The Executive Team is responsible for the operational management of Sumitomo Drive Technologies within the SCG Group. In addition to CEO Florian Butzmann and COO Eric Goos, the team includes Karin Diebold (Finance), Peter Benzenhöfer (Sales), Dirk Hemmerich-Diehl (Human Resources), Martin Pointner (Plant Manager, Markt Indersdorf), and Filip Apers (Plant Manager, Edegem, Belgium). The committee is responsible for the strategic and operational development of the SCG organization in the EMEIA region.

Florian Butzmann will also remain Chief Executive Officer of the Drive Technologies Strategic Business Unit (DT-SBU) in the EMEIA region. The Drive Technologies SBU is the division responsible for drive solutions at the Japanese engineering company Sumitomo Heavy Industries. In addition to Sumitomo (SHI) Cyclo Drive Germany GmbH, the Strategic Business Unit also includes Lafert S.p.A. in San Donà di Piave, Italy, and Invertek Drives Ltd. in Welshpool, United Kingdom.

Sumitomo Drive Technologiesis the umbrella brand for the Drive Technologies business in the EMEIA region. Within this structure, the SCG Group forms an operational group of companies with its own management and board structure. Lafert Group and Invertek Drives are also part of the Drive Technologies SBU but are managed through their own management structures.