Mr. Schöll­horn, what exactly are the roles of a CFO?

Firstly, the CFO ensures that we always have the neces­sary finan­cial resources avail­able to shape our future. On the one hand, this means securing third-party loans from banks. But we must also be able to fund our oper­a­tions from our own resources, or, in other words, through our profits. In addi­tion, we create trans­parency through the commer­cial depart­ments so that we can run our busi­ness prof­itably. To do this, we need certain key perfor­mance indi­ca­tors (KPIs) and reports from different areas of the company, which is the job of Control­ling. And, of course, we have to ensure that our current accounting records are accu­rate and that we present solid annual finan­cial state­ments in order to comply with legal require­ments. On top of these duties as CFO, I also oversee IT and HR.

When you say that we need the finan­cial basis to shape our future, what does that mean, exactly?

First of all, of course, we need to have enough money in the bank to cover our costs and pay wages. But it’s also crit­ical to have suffi­cient funds avail­able to drive devel­op­ments forward – whether it’s through company acqui­si­tions or our own inno­va­tions. We recently acquired Goldfuß engi­neering GmbH, for example, as it comple­ments our port­folio very well and helps us make progress in terms of automa­tion and robotics. At Uhlmann, however, we primarily invest a great deal in our own inno­va­tions – using our own devel­op­ment teams. At the same time, we need to ensure that we can manu­fac­ture the prod­ucts we have devel­oped prof­itably, in other words, that we earn enough money from them. Natu­rally, we also invest in our sites, like in our new canteen and the parking garage in Laupheim, to cite just two exam­ples.

What do you partic­u­larly like about your job?

I’m not really your typical CFO of the past who tradi­tion­ally had a special passion for crunching numbers. We still need numbers, of course, so that we can plan reli­ably and trans­par­ently. But what I like most of all is shaping things. This requires a great deal of commu­ni­ca­tion, meet­ings and discus­sions. The ulti­mate goal is to trans­form the KPIs into action. It’s the effi­cacy of our commer­cial work that counts, not gener­ating Excel spread­sheets.

What is impor­tant to you in your daily work?

I am a real sticker for effi­ciency. Because we can only survive a crisis if we work effi­ciently. I’m always setting new targets for my staff, but I also give them plenty of creative freedom.

What issues are you focusing on at present?

Well, there are two key topics we are mostly dealing with right now: The first is our new GO FOR 30 strategy which kicks off this year and runs until 2030. We are contin­uing to pursue a growth strategy, partic­u­larly abroad.  In future, our inter­na­tional subsidiaries will become more involved in the spare parts and format busi­ness, while also assuming more sales activ­i­ties and value creation. At the same time, however, the new strategy also defines strin­gent cost targets to ensure that we achieve our profit targets.

Another topic is our Next Step program. We are currently reor­ga­nizing Uhlmann Pac-Systeme GmbH & Co. KG. This primarily concerns the tech­nical areas, but we are also making the commer­cial and sales areas more func­tional. This will bring us even closer to our solu­tion concept – the triad of machine, soft­ware and service.

How is Uhlmann currently doing finan­cially?

We are doing very well at present – partic­u­larly at Uhlmann Pac-Systeme. We still have a very healthy order intake, and things are looking good for the finan­cial year that ended in March. We will exceed our planned objec­tives and can prob­ably continue plan­ning along these lines for the next two years. Compared to many other compa­nies in the region, we have the advan­tage that the phar­ma­ceu­tical industry is doing well, and that’s proving very bene­fi­cial for us.

You have also been CFO of Uhlmann Holding since June 2024. Could you tell us the reasons for this?

There are mainly prac­tical reasons for this. We are in the process of securing a major funding package for the entire Uhlmann Group, and it makes sense to do this from within the holding company. In order to conclude the loan agree­ment, I have taken over the Trea­sury divi­sion of the holding company. It takes care of the financing and liaising with the banks.

And finally, a personal ques­tion: What do you do when you’re not sitting behind your desk at Uhlmann?

I’m actu­ally very busy in my spare time. I’m on the soccer board of second-divi­sion club SSV Ulm 1846 Fußball and deputy chairman of the super­vi­sory board at the local Volks­bank. I also serve as commer­cial advisor to a construc­tion company with 700 employees in the Allgäu region, and am involved in various groups, such as the CFO Round Table Süddeutsch­land and the Heidel­berg Leaders Club. All of this is time-consuming, but all these activ­i­ties help me wind down from work and contin­u­ously grow as a person.