Reinhold Festge was born in Oelde on November 10, 1945. After completing his medical school studies he majored in Business Administration and then became managing director of Haver + Beumer Latinoamericana in Brazil. From 1985 to 1987 he served as managing director of HAVER FILLING SYSTEMS in the USA. Since 1987 he has been the personally liable managing partner of HAVER & BOECKER in Oelde. HAVER & BOECKER was founded in 1887 and currently employs over 2700 workers worldwide. In 2012 the group had a sales turnover of 402 million euros. The company's product range extends from products for packing and mineral processing technology to wire weaving and woven wire products for industrial and architectural application.
Festge is a member of the restricted board and sits on the main board of the VDMA. From 1998 to 2004 he was chairman of the VDMA professional association for construction and building material machinery. He was chairman of the VDMA state federation of North Rhine Westphalia from 2005 to 2011.