Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, a German-based global supplier of sealing and vibration control solutions to a wide range of industries with offices in Plymouth, has announced key changes in its leadership — including an appointment to its board of management and naming Matthew L. Portu, left, as the firm’s new president of Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies.
Theodore G. Duclos will become a member of FST’s board of management and is relocating from the United States to the company headquarters in Weinheim, Germany. As president of Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies, Portu will retain his role as senior vice president of global procurement.
Duclos is becoming chief technology officer. In this role, he will be responsible for technology, quality, components, and the health, safety, and environment field at the global technology company. He is currently president, North America, at Freudenberg-NOK, and senior vice president, fluid power.
Freudenberg-NOK is a joint venture between Freudenberg and the NOK Corp. in Japan. It was established by the Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership in 1989.
Duclos, left, who holds a doctorate in biomedical engineering from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, has three decades of experience in research and development, technology development and general management. He joined the Freudenberg Group in September 1996 as corporate director technology at Freudenberg-NOK.
Portu, who holds a bachelor’s in economics and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin, has been senior vice president, global purchasing, at Freudenberg-NOK since July 2013. He previously held executive positions in the Freudenberg-NOK purchasing area and was associate director of purchasing at Visteon Corp. from 1999 to 2005, after working in purchasing at the Ford Motor Co.
Portu will be based at Freudenberg-NOK headquarters in Plymouth.
With the change, the board will consist of Claus Möhlenkamp, CEO; Dieter Schäfer, COO, Ludger Neuwinger-Heimes, CFO, Duclos, CTO.
