Leadership change in the executive team of hotset

Generation change at hotset: Ralf Schwarzkopf (far left) hands over the position of CEO to his cousin Daniel Honsel (far right) on November 1, 2025. Sales Director Sven Braatz (left) is now the second managing director, and Production Manager Philipp Ganghoff (right) is now authorized signatory. (Image: Hotset GmbH)

Since 2002, Ralf Schwarzkopf has been shaping the fortunes of the heating element and sensor manufacturer hotset as CEO. As of November 1, 2025, he has handed over this position to his cousin Daniel Honsel. Simultaneously with this transition into the third family generation, the roles at the top of the company have been restructured.

Ralf Schwarzkopf led the hotset Group for just over 27 years. Under his leadership, the company evolved from a pure supplier of heating elements to an internationally operating manufacturer of innovative system solutions for industrial temperature control, heating, and thermal technology. "After my studies, I joined hotset in 1998. Four years later, I took over the management and it was a great task to develop our family business successfully together with the workforce, our partners, and customers," says Ralf Schwarzkopf. Just a few days ago – on November 1, 2025 – he handed over the CEO position to his cousin Daniel Honsel, who has been active in the company for more than ten years and most recently held the position of second managing director. Like many strategic decisions by hotset's executive team, this step also demonstrates a high degree of continuity, which is characteristic of the company's now over 50-year history. On the one hand, Daniel Honsel now represents the third family generation at the helm; on the other hand, two more men are stepping into key roles, who have significantly contributed to hotset's development for some time: Sales Director Sven Braatz now assumes the position of second managing director, and Production Manager Philipp Ganghoff now also receives power of attorney. This creates a strong and significantly rejuvenated leadership trio that represents hotset’s values and goals as consistently as it is future-oriented.

Great Development Potential

"I am very much looking forward to further expanding the range of services and competencies of hotset. With Sven Braatz and Philipp Ganghoff, I have two highly experienced colleagues by my side who are capable of providing pioneering impulses – both in terms of sales strategy and process optimization in production and assembly," emphasizes Daniel Honsel. Recently, hotset has actively advanced its development into a full-service partner for the realization of high-performance tool inserts and hot runner distributor plates for plastic injection molding. It has also gained attention through innovative components and systems for temperature control technology, temperature sensors, and temperature measurement technology. At the last K fair in Düsseldorf, the company presented, among other things, the new wiretube – an innovative nozzle heating system for hot runner systems – along with a growing range of DIN-compliant safety fittings with measuring devices for temperature monitoring of liquid, gaseous, and pasty process media. And with the electric heating plates of the P-System, it offers a highly interesting alternative to gas-, oil-, or steam-based process heat generation. "These three examples alone show: Our technological know-how offers a range that already extends far beyond our expertise as a thermodynamics specialist and sensor manufacturer. I see great potential here for the development and implementation of further industry- and customer-specific system solutions for many different applications in industrial temperature control," says Daniel Honsel.

Not a Complete Farewell

As a shareholder and initially also as an advisor, Ralf Schwarzkopf will remain closely connected to the hotset Group. However, he has been very actively involved in regional politics for some time and was elected Landrat of the Märkischer Kreis on September 14 of this year. "That seemed to me to be the most suitable time to hand over my operational responsibilities to the younger generation. It means a lot to me that a member of our family is available to succeed me in the company," says Ralf Schwarzkopf.