A talk with: Sebastian Jost, CEO of EOL Packaging Experts GmbH

In April 2023 Sebastian Jost took over the leadership of EOL Packaging Experts GmbH from Thomas Lehmann. In the following interview, Jost, speaking in his capacity as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), introduces the company, talks about his leadership philosophy and outlines the future goals of the globally active manufacturer of integrated, high-quality end-of-line packaging machines and automation solutions for the dairy, food and beverage industry as well as for consumer goods.

Mr. Jost, you are the new CEO of EOL Packaging Experts GmbH. Please give us a brief introduction of the company.

Jost:The EOL Group was founded in Germany in 2017. It currently includes the German companies A+F Automation + Fördertechnik GmbH and BMS Maschinenfabrik GmbH, the U.S. company Standard-Knapp Inc. as well as the companies NEO Conveying Intelligence Lda. and Deltamatic in Portugal.

What is the vision, the corporate goal of the EOL Group?

Jost: We want to be the number one address for complete end-of-line packaging machines and systems. Based on our locations, this applies primarily to markets in America, Europe and, via Portugal, also to Africa.

How is the management structure of the EOL Group organised?

Jost: We have set up an interdisciplinary board that meets virtually every month and in person once a year. This is where the EOL strategy is developed together with selected specialists from our sister companies and then communicated to the Group as guiding principles. Operational management, on the other hand, remains in the hands of the respective locations.

Why this interdisciplinary approach?

Jost: It takes an interdisciplinary team to understand the "Why is change necessary?”. This applies to the individual company just as it does to a group. You have to be willing to engage with each other if you want to design products, processes and solutions in the interests of the customer. This is the core of my leadership philosophy.

In the interests of the customer. Can you make that a bit clearer?

Jost: Our prime directive is: We only have added value if the customer has added value. This raises the key question: What is the customer willing to pay for? And this quickly takes us to a lean engineering and lean production strategy. This then needs to be implemented in the individual companies, while of course taking individual circumstances and conditions into account.

Why is that?

Jost: Over the past years I realised that establishing a common corporate culture within a group is not something that can be done by force. A shared vision is needed. Changing a grown culture takes time. But you can sow seeds and let them grow slowly. The cultures of the individual companies need to be truly valued.

At BMS you used to focus on Germany, Austria and Switzerland. EOL, on the other hand, has a clear international orientation. Why this expansion?

Jost: We believe that our products are excellently suited for international markets. BMS wanting to make the leap to the USA, for example, just wasn’t logistically or financially feasible. That’s why we have always said: let the cobbler stick to his last. Together with a traditional company like Standard-Knapp, with its sales and service structure, we are now in a position to serve this market successfully. The reverse is true, of course, for all EOL partners. For the customer, this really makes the group greater than the sum of its individual parts.

So what’s the next step for EOL?

Jost: The next step is to develop the markets that are currently open to us as a group. In the medium term, a further regional expansion of EOL is by all means conceivable – but there’s no pressure to do so. As part of our Buy & Build strategy we have now moved on from the stage where we have to make targeted acquisitions of companies.

Mr. Jost, You are not just CEO of the EOL Group, you are also managing director at BMS and A+F. Do you have any time left for Sebastian Jost as a private person?

Jost: Yes, of course I do. When you have a strong team, the boss must be able to get away from time to time and actively let go. And that is something that I do.