Harald Apel

Professor Harald Apel serves as Professor for Production Management and Logistics at Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal in the Department of Mechanical Engineering/Technical Business Administration since 2000. He also maintains an active consulting practice for small and medium-sized enterprises in quality and cooperation management since 1998. His academic journey began with studies in mechanical engineering technology at Slovak Technical University of Bratislava, followed by research positions at TH Magdeburg and the Fraunhofer Institute IFF.

Professor Apel's research focuses span Production Management, Logistics, Quality Management, and Factory Planning. His work emphasizes practical applications in industrial settings, particularly in developing flexible production systems, quality information systems, and optimized logistics solutions. He has extensive experience implementing these concepts in automotive, machinery, and manufacturing sectors.

His notable achievements include the publication of the specialist book 'Quality through Cooperation' (Qualität durch Kooperation) with Springer-Verlag in 1997. Professor Apel has led numerous industry projects including the 'Flexible Gearbox Housing Production' rationalization project, damage analysis for Volkswagen AG, and state projects on efficient organizational structures through cooperation.

• Published 'Quality through Cooperation' with Springer-Verlag (1997)
• Conducted BMBF projects in quality management
• Led state project 'More efficient organizational structures through cooperation' with medium-sized companies
• Served as auditor for Dekra Certification Services GmbH

Professor Apel actively integrates student internships into his consulting work, providing practical experience while supporting quality and environmental management system implementations. His current projects focus on flexible business development concepts for SMEs, optimization of setup times, prototype design in innovation projects, and logistical solutions for various industries using dynamic simulation techniques.

He leads the Institute for Technical Business Administration at Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal, where his team works on practical applications of production management theories in real-world industrial settings, particularly focusing on automotive suppliers, tool manufacturing, and special machinery sectors.