Peden Named President Of WMF Professional Coffee Machines Americas

With its eye on doubling sales in the next four years, The WMF Group has announced that Raymond Peden will lead its professional coffee machine business for the Schaerer and WMF brands in the Americas region.

His appointment as President of WMF Professional Coffee Machines Americas, official on January 1, unites WMF’s North and South American businesses with its two brands WMF and Schaerer under one roof, a move expected to increase the group’s agility and speed in the competitive American marketplace. Peden will succeed brothers Steven and Roland Eckenhausen, who founded the Schaerer USA business a quarter-century ago. At the end of 2015, they sold their remaining stake to WMF Group. WMF, based in Germany, was founded in 1853.

Peden joins WMF from Franke Coffee Systems North America, where he served as president. “We are very happy to welcome Ray Peden to our team at WMF Group. Attracting such an experienced professional with a proven track record of numerous leading positions in the coffee business, is a huge enrichment for the WMF Group,” says Florian Lehman, President of the Global Coffee Machines business. “We are convinced that together with Ray we will bring our professional coffee business in the Americas region to the next growth level.”

Schaerer and WMF represent $50 million in net sales. The WMF Group says it aims to double sales in North America by 2020.