Industry Movements

NEW PHASE FOR GRAEME MCLEAN

After more than 60 years in the industry, Graeme McLean is taking a step back

After more than six decades in the motor industry, well-known industry identity Graeme McLean is stepping back, however he won’t be retiring or disappearing altogether. His career started with a three-year cadetship with one of New Zealand’s major Stock and Station Agency companies, training to take up a role as a grain agent. However, following this Graeme took up the opportunity in 1960 of joining his eldest brother Bob who had returned to New Zealand after extensive auto electrical experience overseas. Bob had at that point purchased an old established auto-electrical business in Christchurch and Graeme was to run the office, spare parts store and assist in the workshop alongside his brother and one other tradesman. Over the following period of almost twenty years the company developed to a team of thirtyfour with Graeme as General Manager, with ten tradesmen in the workshop, two in the instrument division, a team in the warehouse, five sales people in the field and extensive sales throughout New Zealand with major brand lines. Throughout this period Graeme took an active part in New Zealand Motor Trade affairs in roles such as Chairman of the Canterbury Branch Autoelectrical division, President of the Canterbury Branch of the MTA, a branch representative on the executive and ultimately chairing the National Vehicle Repairers Division of the NZ Motor Trade Association. He was a Motor Trade Association representative on the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce and was ultimately elected in his own right to the Chamber and became the inaugural Chairman of the Chamber Small Business Group. In 1978 Graeme left the family business after accepting a role as National Sales Manager and ultimately Marketing Manager of Hella-New Zealand Limited, based in Auckland. The next major step was in 1988 with a move with his family to Australia, with Graeme taking up the appointment as Marketing Director for Aftermarket Sales at Hella Australia Pty Ltd in Melbourne – a role he filled with distinction over the following almost nine years winning both national and international marketing awards. Graeme then took up the role of General Manager – Sales with Siemens VDO with responsibility for both Aftermarket and OE sales. Following this appointment, he spent four years in management roles in the automotive chemical manufacturing and distribution field before finally establishing his own Marketing and Public Relations Company in January 2003.

LIQUI MOLY MANAGING DIRECTOR RETIRES

Ernst Prost had been a part of Liqui Moly since 1990

After more than three decades of serving the people and the company, Liqui Moly Managing Director Ernst Prost has retired. “The field has been tilled. But over the past 31 years, we have plowed the company and the industry vigorously,” Ernst said. When Ernst says “we”, that is Ernst Prost and Günter Hiermaier. On October 1, 1990, they moved together from a car care product manufacturer to what was then still a small company in Ulm. Ernst began as Head of Sales and Marketing and Günter was employed as Retail Sales Manager, Germany. “More than 30 years ago, he was my apprentice, which was the name of given to trainees at the time. We were always together,” Ernst said. Now the two are taking separate career paths. Günter Hiermaier, who has been the second Managing Director since 2018, will now lead the fortunes of Liqui Moly on his own. “We still celebrated our pearl 30th wedding anniversary. But now it’s definitely over for me. The past 30 years have been strung together like pearls on a necklace. Each of them is a treasure trove of my life,” Ernst said. Ernst Prost and his team turned Liqui Moly around and transformed the small additives company into Germany’s most popular motor oil brand, which is active in 150 countries. In 1990, the company posted a turnover of around 15 million euros with 118 employees. At the end of 2021, this amounted to 733 million euros and 1008 employees. By 1998, the trained mechanic gradually bought company shares from the founding family and became managing partner. In this way, he saved the company from going out of business and secured dozens of jobs. The entry into the engine oil business provided the decisive boost to growth. In 2006, the Meguin mineral oil plants in Saarlouis became a wholly owned subsidiary. This marked the final step towards becoming an independent engine oil manufacturer. In 2017, Ernst Prost sold his shares to the Würth Group, but remained as Managing Director. Until the end, he remained true to his line, foregoing state subsidies and short-time work Graeme McLean and Associates Pty Ltd has successfully worked with some of the major brand names in the Australian automotive and specialised manufacturing market up until semiretirement at the end of 2021. “I have been privileged to work with some amazing people and companies in the industry and in the media over a long period since 1960, however it was time to pass the work on to younger people who more easily adapt to the challenges of changing markets,” Graeme said. “I will continue to work with feature stories in the industrial area and lesser work also in the automotive field for the immediate future as to retire completely is something I could not imagine.” To contact Graeme, email graeme@mcleanassoc.com.au

even during the hard Corona period. He even hired people and countered the crisis with investments worth millions – from on-board funds, as he says. “They were tough but fulfilling years. Work is my lifeblood and Liqui Moly my life’s work. I know that I am in the best hands with my friend Günter Hiermaier and his team. Life is finite. And that’s why I’m finally looking forward to a phase of life that is no longer meticulously timed and determined externally, but offers freedom,” Ernst said. For more from Liqui Moly, visit www.liqui-moly.com.au