• Andreas Bachhofer hands over responsibility for the Wörth truck plant to Thomas Twork, previously head of the Gaggenau site
• Jürgen Betz succeeds Thomas Twork in Gaggenau

Leinfelden-Echterdingen/Wörth/Gaggenau – Daimler Truck announces personnel changes at its Wörth and Gaggenau locations: Effective April 1, 2026, Thomas Twork (53), currently head of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Gaggenau, will take over as head of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth am Rhein and Head of Production for Mercedes‑Benz Trucks. He succeeds Andreas Bachhofer (56), who will assume a new, cross-functional executive position with significant entrepreneurial responsibility as of April 1, 2026. Also effective April 1, 2026, Jürgen Betz (55), currently Head of Manufacturing Engineering Global Powersystems, will become head of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Gaggenau.

“I sincerely thank Andreas Bachhofer for his outstanding commitment and successful work as Head of Production Mercedes‑Benz Trucks and head of the Wörth site. He has strategically advanced the production organization in Europe, enhanced efficiency with fundamentally new approaches, and shaped the Wörth site with great dedication. I wish him every success in his new role, which will be announced in the near future,” said Jürgen Distl, Head of Operations Mercedes-Benz Trucks. “I am equally pleased that we have secured Thomas Twork, a highly experienced production and operations expert, as his successor. His many years of leadership experience within the powertrain production network and his current responsibility for our Gaggenau site provide an excellent foundation for successfully developing Wörth and the Mercedes-Benz production plants in Europe.”

“I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Thomas Twork for his exceptional contribution at the Gaggenau plant. During his time as plant manager, he has strategically and economically advanced the site as the heart of the global transmission network and positioned it as a center of competence for electric powertrain components and hydrogen fuel cell assembly,” said Yaris Pürsün, Head of Global Powersystems Operation Daimler Truck. “At the same time, I am delighted to welcome Jürgen Betz, a strong team player with deep strategic insight and extensive experience in the global production network for powertrain components, as head of the Gaggenau site.”

About Andreas Bachhofer, Thomas Twork, and Jürgen Betz

Andreas Bachhofer joined the company in 1995 after earning his master’s degree at RWTH Aachen University, starting his career as a doctoral candidate at Mercedes-Benz Cars in Sindelfingen. Since 1998, he has gained extensive international leadership experience in various roles at Mercedes-Benz Cars and Daimler Truck, including Head of Quality Management, Head of Life Cycle Management at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, and head of the production and development site in Aksaray, Turkey. In August 2021, Bachhofer assumed responsibility for the largest assembly plant of Mercedes-Benz Trucks as Head of Site and Production at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth.

Following 12 years of service in the German Armed Forces and earning a degree in aerospace engineering, Thomas Twork began his career at Daimler AG in 2003. Until 2015, he held various positions at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Untertürkheim, including Head of Axle Component Production and Head of the Light Alloy Foundry, as well as at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Hamburg, where he was responsible for production planning. In 2015, Twork moved to Mannheim and took over the foundry, later, in 2017, the engine production. In 2019, he assumed management of the Gaggenau site. In addition, Twork was responsible for the global functions of digitalization, equipment manufacturing, and materials and process engineering within the global powertrain production network.

After completing his degree in business administration in Mannheim, Jürgen Betz began his career in 1997 as a consultant at McKinsey & Company. In 2007, he joined Daimler AG’s procurement division. In 2012, Betz moved to cost engineering at Daimler Truck. Since 2016, he has been responsible for production and network planning within the global production network for powertrain components, significantly shaping its strategic and technological transformation with a focus on the electric powertrain.

About the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth

Founded in 1963, the Wörth am Rhein plant is the largest truck assembly plant of Mercedes-Benz Trucks. Since its inception, around 4.4 million trucks have been built here. Today, these include the Actros, Arocs, and Atego model series, as well as the Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks Econic, Unimog, and Zetros. Since 2021, Mercedes-Benz Trucks has added electric trucks to its portfolio: the eActros 300/400 for heavy distribution haulage as the first battery-electric vehicle, followed a year later by the eEconic for municipal refuse collection. At the end of 2024, series production began for the second generation with the eActros 600 for long-haul transport. With approximately 10,000 employees, the Wörth plant is one of the largest employers in Rhineland-Palatinate.

About the Mercedes-Benz plant in Gaggenau

Founded in 1894 as “Bergmann’s Industriewerke in Gaggenau,” the Mercedes-Benz plant in Gaggenau is the oldest automotive plant in the world. In addition to transmissions, the site manufactures planetary and portal axles, and passenger car components, including torque converters. The Gaggenau plant is evolving into a center of competence for electric powertrain components and the assembly of hydrogen-based fuel cell units. With around 4,600 employees, it is both the largest employer in the city and the largest training facility in the region. Vocational training has a long tradition here: over 100 years, more than 10,000 young people have completed their training at the world’s oldest automotive plant.