DECEMBER 2017 SEEDWORLD.COM / 83 2017 PETKUS Fine and Vegetable Seed Technology Center Zwaagdijk/Netherlands 2017 PETKUS North American Seed Technology Center 1970–1980 East Germany: App. 60000 machines were produced with the GIGANT being produced on an assembly line and about 650 fine seed plants (0,5 t/h) were delivered to UDSSR; 1400 employees worked in Wutha. 1994 Mark Scholze and Luca Celeghini decided to carry on the tradition of the international com- pany‘s prosperous formative decades by reuniting ROEBER with PETKUS. 2011 To honour the PETKUS founder, the ROEBER Institute was established as Innovation Center (R&D). The East German milling technology company MMW Technologie GmbH was acquired. 2016 Formation of PETKUS Group and Technology Campus: PETKUS Technologie for the SEED business. PETKUS Engineering for the GRAIN, FOOD, FEED and OIL business and ROEBER Institut for inno- vative PRODUCT-R&D. INSIDER BACKGROUND FORM INSIDER NAME: Mark Scholze INSIDER EMAIL: info@petkus.com BUSINESS NAME: PETKUS Technologie GmbH BUSINESS WEBSITE: www.petkus.com JOB TITLE: CEO PETKUS Technologie GmbH YEARS OF BUSINESS: more than 25 years AREA(S) OF EXPERTISE: international sales, business manage-ment, strategic and operations leadership, seed & grain processing & handling BIOGRAPHY: Mark Scholze, CEO PETKUS Technologie GmbH (Germany), has more than 20 years of leadership and insider experience in the seed and grain business. With his competence of having the right strategic vision, based on a keen understanding of the industry, he led PETKUS to a recognized global player in the area of seed and grain technologies. The development from a traditional mechanical engineering company to a world leading turnkey solution provider was driven by the entrepreneurial foresight of Scholze. He earned his Master in Engineering and Business and during his career, he fo- cussed early on international business. The implementation of best practices, organizational improvements and especially innovative technologies made the company not only a leader in state of the art equipment, but also sets new standards in high quality seed processing. Nowadays, PETKUS brings together the global experts in seeds and grains and is a pioneer in new tech- nology approaches. Paradigm shifts are necessary in every industry. It’s not good enough to just change what we do and how we do it. Change over the long term requires us to alter how we think about the industry we work in. Developing new seed technology is an area that increasingly requires us all to change how we perceive the present and think about what’s to come. As a result, seed quality becomes more important than ever. As the industry strives for reduced reliance on traditional chemistries, strong seed becomes crucial for field emergence and yield stability. State-of-the-art technology must be geared toward the preservation of seed quality, and the reduction of seed loss and seed damage during processing. Less seed production acres are available and commercial production of seed is expensive. Yesterday’s technology won’t do it anymore, as that old technology has become synonymous with the loss of profits. Taking the industry to this new level has become my favourite part of the job. I’ve learned over the years that experience and knowledge — combined with the cour- age to challenge old ways and breathe life into new ones — is what sets you apart in this industry.