Hayes Lemmerz Appoints VP Steel Wheel Operations

Hayes Lemmerz International has appointed John Stephenson as vice president of the Steel Wheel Operations for the company’s International Wheel Group, effective immediately. Mr. Stephenson will report directly to International Wheel Group President Fred Bentley. Mr Stephenson will have responsibility for the company’s International Steel Wheel businesses with operations in Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, and India.

Before joining Hayes Lemmerz, Mr Stephenson was Director of North Europe Operations for Textron Fastening Systems. Previous to that, Mr Stephenson was plant manager at APW Electronics, in Bremen, Germany. Prior to this position he served in a variety of roles in operations and engineering at Valeo Security Systems in the UK and Germany. Mr Stephenson also worked as a design engineer at Vickers Defence Systems in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.

Fluent in English and German, Mr Stephenson holds a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne Polytechnic, in the UK. Mr Stephenson also received a Master of Science degree in Automotive Product Engineering from Cranfield University, in the UK.

In making the announcement, Mr Bentley said: “We are pleased that John has joined our team. Operations management is critical to Hayes Lemmerz and John’s expertise and relationships in the industry, will be invaluable to us.”