Departure into a new era

Harald Hotop has been appointed Managing director of Kludi, the fittings specialist from the Sauerland region, with effect from the 1st of November 2023. The 48-years-old is moving from Cologne-based Megabad GmbH, where he has been Managing Director since 2019, to the fittings manufacturer headquartered in Menden. He will form the management team there together with Frank Holtmann-Wibberich and Can Yildirim, who has also been appointed Managing Director as of 1 November 2023.

With his many years of experience both in the sanitary industry and in specialist wholesaling, Harald Hotop is the ideal addition to the management team to continue to drive forward the transformation of Kludi together with Frank Holtmann-Wibberich and Can Yildirim," emphasises Abdallah Massaad, Group CEO of RAK Ceramics, to which Kludi has belonged since 2022. With his profound knowledge of the market and the industry, Harald Hotop is ideally placed to establish Kludi as a reliable and predictable market partner in the long term. "This is the basis for embarking on a new era with Kludi and jointly developing the company into a leading premium brand in the sanitary industry," says Abdallah Massaad.

Dedicated growth strategy The systematic further development of Kludi and the planned expansion of its market position are in line with the growth strategy of the RAK Ceramics Group. It is aimed at strengthening the company's presence in its core markets and concentrating on core products. Kludi plays an important role in this, as it gives RAK Ceramics the opportunity to drive forward its expansion into European markets and strengthen its own position in projects across the entire sanitaryware and fittings business.

Great potential After initial professional positions in international consulting companies, Harald Hotop worked in various functions for Ideal Standard before joining the management of Megabad. "I am very much looking forward to the exciting and responsible task of successfully advancing the initiated transformation of the company and the Kludi brand together with all employees," explains Harald Hotop. "If we all work together, I see very great potential for Kludi to become one of the most important and innovative players in the bathroom industry in Europe in the medium term with the support of our shareholder.”