DMK Appoints Zink as New Head of R&D

He will be responsible for all R&D projects in the areas of milk and fresh dairy products, cheese, brand business, powder and ingredients, process engineering and packaging development, and will report to Ingo Muller, managing director of Ingredients, Central Quality Management and R&D.

Jan 19 2012 --- Dr Ralf Zink is to take up the role of new overall head of R&D at dairy group DMK (DMK Deutsches Milchkontor GmbH) with immediate effect. He will be responsible for all R&D projects in the areas of milk and fresh dairy products, cheese, brand business, powder and ingredients, process engineering and packaging development, and will report to Ingo Muller, managing director of Ingredients, Central Quality Management and R&D. Manfred Feldmann, who has been responsible for R&D since the merger, will step down as of 30 April 2012 after a successful 18-year career with DMK and NORDMILCH. He will enter the passive phase of a partial retirement scheme. Until then, he will be available to the company for special projects.

"Particularly in the areas of industry products and ingredients, innovation is the most important driver of increased value added," says Ingo Müller. Müller explains the personnel decision: “We are convinced that Dr Zink will take DMK’s innovativeness a critical decisive step forward with his experience in the international food manufacturing industry.”

Following post-doctoral work in the USA, Dr Zink, who holds a PhD in food microbiology and biotechnology, launched his business career as a Research and Development Group Leader in the dairy products division at the Nestlé Research Center in Lausanne. The now 47-year-old followed this up with six years as Director and Head of Global R&D/Technology with COGNIS, a leading manufacturer of specialty chemicals for the food and beverages industry. Dr Zink was the overall leader of R&D for the Nutrition and Health strategic business unit. COGNIS’s client portfolio included the global players among food companies in the fast moving consumer goods sector. His most recent role was in R&D, ingredients and strategy consultancy within his own company, FUNCTIONAL SOLUTIONS.