German recycling-systems specialist STADLER Anlagenbau has appointed Julia Stadler as Co-Chief Executive Officer. Effective 1 June 2025, she joins her father, long-time CEO Willi Stadler, and CFO Claus Maier in the leadership team, representing the eighth generation of the family business.
The appointment combines continuity with a stronger focus on digital technology. Julia Stadler joined the company in 2023 as Chief Digital Officer and has led work on automation, data integration and artificial intelligence—capabilities that are becoming central to the performance of modern sorting plants.
STADLER began as a village forge in Altshausen in 1791 and developed into a global supplier of turnkey recycling and sorting facilities. Under Willi Stadler, who has led the company since 1993, the workforce grew from 26 people to about 600 while the business expanded internationally.
The shared leadership model gives the company time to transfer experience while pursuing new operating tools and markets. For the recycling industry, where plant availability, material recognition and data quality increasingly determine economics, the transition also signals that software and machine intelligence will sit alongside mechanical engineering in STADLER’s next phase.
