As part of the process of reorientation of the GEA Group into five segments, the Air Treatment Division – as Business Unit for Heating / Ventilation / Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems – will become part of the new GEA Heat Exchangers Segment, to take effect on 1 January 2010.

GEA will in future focus its entire heat-exchanger activities in the GEA Heat Exchangers Segment, which will be directed by a team of GEA managers. Jörg Jeliniewski will be in overall charge of business as Segment President, with support from Michael Andersen as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Jan Siebert as Chief Operating Officer (COO), and Dr. Michael Junker as Chief Manufacturing Officer (CMO). Essential objectives of this reorganization are achievement of leaner Group structures and (in turn) the elimination of hierarchical levels, as well as more efficient research and development work.

Management of the new Business Unit HVAC Systems will be the responsibility of an experienced team from the previous Air Treatment Division. René van Rijsewijk is responsible for operative management, and will be in charge of Sales at the same time. As previous Managing Director of the Dutch sales company GEA Happel Nederland B.V., van Rijsewijk is exceptionally well acquainted with Air Treatment products and with the European market. Wolf Hartmann, as new director of HVAC Systems Manufacturing, will head the production activities of the Business Unit in the plants of this area. As assistant to the previous production director, Dr. Michael Junker, Wolf Hartmann has already since beginning of the year co-directed the production activities of the Air Treatment Division. Previously, he was responsible for five years as Sales Director for Germany.

As contact partner for customers, GEA Happel Klimatechnik in Herne will, now as before and without change, provide its services with the GEA sales network throughout Germany.

The level of Divisions that has existed until now will no longer be part of the new GEA structure. In this connection, Dr. Hugo Blaum, until now President of the Air Treatment Division, will leave the GEA Group as of March 2010. Until then, he will support integration of the Division into the new Segment. Dr. Michael Bauer, until now CFO of the Division, will become CFO of the segment Mechanical Equipment in January. As previously in the Division as CMO, Dr. Michael Junker will be responsible for the entire area of production in the new Heat Exchangers Segment. Dr. Frank Vossloh, who was responsible for Sales, received an offer outside the GEA Group before the decision for re-structuring, and will leave our company in this connection at the end of the year.

“I would like to take this chance to thank the management of the Air Treatment Division for their outstanding work over the past years. It has been especially in the recent economically difficult period that the class and the talents of Division management have become especially apparent,” said Jürg Oleas, Chairman of the Board of the GEA Group.

“Focusing all heat exchanger activities in one Segment provides the new HVAC Systems Business Unit with access to the entire expertise of the GEA Group in this area. This will become apparent in the future in even greater innovation power in the Unit,” said René van Rijsewijk.

More details on the new Heat Exchangers Segment are available on the Internet under
www.gea-heatexchangers.geagroup.com.

(Picture)
As of 1 January 2010, René van Rijsewijk (left) and Wolf Hartmann will head the HVAC Business Unit of the new Heat Exchangers Segment at GEA.

Press Relations and Public Affairs:

GEA Air Treatment GmbH - Ms. Annette Wille
Suedstrasse 48 - 44625 Herne, Germany
Tel.:  +49 (0)2325 468 206 - Fax:  +49 (0)2325 468 401
www.gea-airtreatment.com

Press’n’Relations II GmbH - Ralf Dunker
Guntherstrasse 19 - 80639 Munich, Germany
Tel.:  +49 (0)89 17 99 92 75 - Fax:  +49 (0)89 17 99 92 89

About GEA Air Treatment
GEA Air Treatment GmbH, in Herne, Germany, is the parent company of 35 firms that belong to GEA Air Treatment, which is active throughout Europe and is in turn part of the GEA Group. GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft is one of the largest systems providers for users in the food and beverages industries, and in energy production. Group sales in 2008 was approximately 5.2 billion euros. As an internationally active technological enterprise, GEA Group has concentrated on process engineering and components for demanding production processes in a wide range of end-user markets. The GEA Group generates around 70 % of its sales in long-term growth industries for food, beverages, and energy. As of 30 September 2009 the company employed more than 20,000 staff, who are accessible to customers in 50 countries. In 90% of its business areas, GEA Group is among the leading market and technology companies. GEA group is listed on the German MDAX stock index (G1A, WKN 660200).

Dateien:

GEA_HVAC_final_GB_TEXT_only.doc - 96 KByte

GEA_HVAC_final_GB_.pdf - 96 KByte