Stefan Kaiser – Celebrating 30 Years with RAPA!
Three decades. Three countries. Countless contributions to RAPA’s success.
We are proud to celebrate Stefan Kaiser and congratulate him on 30 incredible years with RAPA. Stefan’s journey is truly a RAPA success story. Stefan began his career with RAPA in 1996 at the Selb, Germany headquarters as a Quality Technician in the Quality Department. Building a strong foundation in RAPA’s quality systems and processes gave Stefan a deep understanding of quality that would become a defining part of his career—and an expertise he would carry with him around the world. When RAPA began expanding beyond Germany, Stefan embraced the opportunity to help build something new. He supported the U.S. start-up in 2012 and moved to the United States in 2013 as one of RAPA’s original expatriates, building the foundation of the Quality Department at RAPA’s new North American headquarters and production facility in Auburn, Alabama.
His leadership and dedication helped lay the foundation for RAPA’s North American quality organization. That commitment to quality was recognized in 2018 when RAPA LP received the FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Outstanding Quality Award—an achievement that reflected the dedication of Stefan and the entire RAPA team.
Over the years, Stefan continued to grow with RAPA, taking on new responsibilities and ultimately serving as Lead Quality Engineer to the Customer. In that role, he has worked closely with customers and internal teams to maintain RAPA’s high standards, solve challenges, and strengthen customer relationships.
His impact extends far beyond Auburn. Stefan has traveled between RAPA’s global locations, participating in audits, system changes, and training, bringing that knowledge and experience back to the United States. He has also played an important role in RAPA’s expansion into China, serving as a liaison for quality standardization and helping connect quality practices across RAPA’s organizations in Germany, the United States, and China.
Over 30 years, Stefan has witnessed—and helped drive—an extraordinary evolution at RAPA. His experience spans numerous products and projects, from early-generation air suspension components to today’s diverse product families, as well as the continued development of RAPA’s quality systems, laboratories, processes, and global operations. But perhaps what makes Stefan’s story most special is not simply what he has accomplished. It is the knowledge, experience, camaraderie, and commitment he has shared with the people around him.
Outside of work, Stefan enjoys traveling the world with his wife, Kacy, spending time with their family and grandchild, riding his Ducati motorcycle and live music.
Stefan, thank you for 30 years of dedication, leadership, expertise, and friendship. Your contributions have made a lasting impact on RAPA, our people, our products, and our global organization. We look forward to many more years together.