Johannes Kiesel

President & CEO perma USA (H-T-L perma USA LP)

Last Reviewed: September 29, 2026

Executive Summary

Johannes Kiesel is President and CEO of perma USA, legally H-T-L perma USA LP, the North American arm of perma-tec, a German company that makes automatic single-point lubrication systems. These are self-contained devices that deliver grease or oil to bearings, chains and other lubrication points without a technician having to visit each one. Under his leadership the US business has concentrated on connected systems that can be monitored and controlled remotely. It has presented them to the maintenance and reliability community at trade shows and conferences. The company is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it assembles, supports and ships perma products for customers across North America.

Career Highlights

• President & CEO of perma USA, the wholly owned US subsidiary of perma-tec GmbH & Co. KG.
• Presented the STAR VARIO LONG RANGE system, which uses LoRa wireless to manage up to 2,000 lubrication systems per gateway, at MINExpo 2024 in Las Vegas.
• Took perma USA to the Reliable Plant Conference & Expo in June 2025 with its own booth for the first time.
• Co-presented “Industrial Evolution in Plant Reliability: Embracing the Future of Connected and Condition-Based Lubrication” with Vice President of Sales Laine Fury at Reliable Plant 2025.
• Oversaw a 206-panel rooftop solar system at the Charlotte headquarters, commissioned in March 2026.

Professional Journey

perma-tec’s company history on its About page begins in 1934, and the company develops and manufactures all its products at its headquarters in Germany. It began setting up foreign subsidiaries in 1995, and the US business, H-T-L perma USA LP, dates from then. The US company is wholly owned by the German parent and draws directly on its research and engineering group. In January 2024 it moved into a new office in Charlotte. That site now serves as its North American headquarters, with 43,000 square feet including production and distribution space.

As President and CEO, Kiesel has pushed the US business towards connected lubrication. Before MINExpo 2024 he called the mining show the right place to launch perma’s STAR VARIO LONG RANGE system, noting that perma was growing in mining worldwide and especially in the Americas. The system uses LoRa wireless and the perma CONNECT app to control lubrication points up to 1.2 miles away, in places that are hard or dangerous to reach. In 2025 perma USA followed with a partnership with UE Systems, which triggers lubrication from real-time bearing condition data such as ultrasound, vibration and temperature. It also previewed a Bluetooth gateway.

He has also put the company in front of maintenance and reliability professionals more directly. perma USA had co-exhibited at the Reliable Plant Conference & Expo for years. For 2025 it booked its own booth, which Kiesel put down to strong attendee demand for a dedicated showcase. At the event he and Vice President of Sales Laine Fury led a session on connected and condition-based lubrication. The session covered equipment downtime, lubrication errors and the role of automation and IoT in maintenance. “This was exactly the right audience and the right time for our message,” he said afterwards.

In 2026 perma USA commissioned a rooftop solar system of 206 panels at its Charlotte headquarters. Kiesel described sustainability as “a core part of how we operate” and said it was one of several steps to build sustainability into the business.

Education

No education record was found in a primary or first-party source during this review.