Recent events behind the scenes at automotive supplier Woco Industrietechnik (Bad Soden-Salmünster / Germany; www.wocogroup.com) remain a matter for speculation but the outcome is no secret: founder Franz-Josef Wolf is back at the helm. His son Martin Wolf (42), who took over as CEO in 2006, has resigned. Since the return of the company's 73-year old founder is likely to be no more than a stop-gap measure, it looks as though the future manager could come from outside the family.

The company has also announced that short-time working is to be extended to headquarters, in addition to the 750 employees at the production facilities in Bad Soden-Salmünster, Steinau, Rastatt and Kronacher Kunststoffwerk (Kronach / Germany; www.woco-kronach.de) who have taken a temporary cut in pay and working hours since December 2008.

The group reported sales of EUR 426m in 2007, with the automotive business accounting for around 70% and industrial applications for 30%. Things looked good in the first nine months of 2008 with performance above budget according to a company spokesperson. After that business slumped. Although the company has not given details, full-year sales were apparently lower than in 2007.

This family-owned business manufactures acoustics, actuators and polymer systems for the automotive industry. Its portfolio also includes functional vibration minimisation and sealing systems and products for industry.