Passing the baton at STILL: CFO Birkner retires and is succeeded by Hofmann
DGAP-Media / 06.10.2017 / 16:11
Karl-Heinz Birkner is retiring on February 1, 2018 after 34 years with various companies within the KION Group
Thomas Toepfer, chairman of the supervisory board at STILL: "Karl-Heinz Birkner has made a significant contribution to the success of the KION Group in a variety of roles."
Thorsten Hofmann, currently Head of Corporate Controlling at the KION Group, will transfer to Hamburg as his successor
Wiesbaden/Hamburg, October 6, 2017 - Personnel change on the Management Board at Hamburg-based forklift truck and warehouse technology specialist STILL GmbH: After 34 years of service in various companies within the KION Group, CFO Karl-Heinz Birkner will be retiring with effect from February 1, 2018. He will be succeeded by Thorsten Hofmann, currently Head of Corporate Controlling at the KION Group in Wiesbaden. He was appointed on Friday by the Supervisory Board of STILL GmbH with effect from February 1, 2018.
"Karl-Heinz Birkner has made a significant contribution to the success and profile of the Linde Material Handling and STILL brands, and the KION Group as a whole, in a variety of important Finance roles," commented Thomas Toepfer, chairman of the Supervisory Board at STILL GmbH and CFO of the KION Group. "Our brand companies and the Group were very fortunate to benefit from Mr. Birkner's extensive and valuable expertise over such a long period. He knew the DNA of the KION Group and its key brands, Linde MH and STILL, like few others, and played a very important role in the Group's success. We wish Karl-Heinz Birkner the very best for his well-earned retirement."
Karl-Heinz Birkner was appointed to the Management Board at STILL in February 2016, having already been a member of it between 2009 and 2011. Before transferring to Hamburg, he was the Head of Accounting, Tax, and Financial Services at the KION Group. After graduating with a degree in economics, he started his career in 1984 at Linde AG and held several management positions over the years, primarily in the industrial truck business, including as a member of the management team at Linde Material Handling between 2005 and 2007.
"We are delighted that in Thorsten Hofmann we have gained an outstanding financial expert with many years of experience within the KION Group to fill the vacant position on the Management Board at STILL," commented Henry Puhl, Managing Director and President of STILL GmbH. "His in-depth knowledge of the Group, the sector, the markets, and our products will be an excellent asset in the further expansion of our long-established STILL brand."
Thorsten Hofmann (52) began his career in 1991 in Controlling at Linde AG. In 1994, he transferred to Linde Material Handling and held a number of management positions in Finance and Controlling in Germany and abroad. In 2013, he was appointed the head of group-wide Controlling at KION Group.
Website: kiongroup.com/mediasite
Twitter: @kion_group
The KION Group and STILL
The KION Group is a global leader in industrial trucks, related services, and supply chain solutions. Across more than 100 countries worldwide, the KION Group designs, builds and supports logistics solutions that optimize material and information flow within factories, warehouses and distribution centers. The company is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in Europe, the second-largest producer of forklifts globally, and a leading provider of warehouse automation.
The KION Group's world-renowned brands are clear industry leaders. Dematic, the newest addition to the KION Group, is a global leader in automated material handling providing a comprehensive range of intelligent supply chain and automation solutions. The Linde and STILL brands serve the premium industrial truck segment. Baoli focuses on industrial trucks in the economy segment. Among its regional industrial truck brands, Fenwick is the largest supplier of material handling products in France, OM STILL is a market leader in Italy, and Voltas is a leading provider of industrial trucks in India.
With a global installed base of more than 1.2 million industrial trucks and over 6,000 installed systems, KION Group's customer base includes companies in all industries and of all sizes on six continents. The KION Group has more than 30,000 employees and generated revenue of around EUR5.6 billion in 2016.
STILL offers customized intralogistics solutions worldwide, and implements the intelligent teamwork of forklift trucks and warehouse technology, software and services. The achievement created by the Company's founder Hans Still in 1920 through a large amount of creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and quality quickly developed into a strong brand well-known throughout the world. Today more than 8,000 qualified staff in research and development, production, marketing and service are involved for the sole purpose of fulfilling customers' needs throughout the world.
Disclaimer
This document and the information contained herein are for information purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, regulatory reforms, results of technical studies, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. We do not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.
Further information for the media
Michael Hauger
Head of Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 655
Mobile: +49 (0)151 16 86 55 50michael.hauger@kiongroup.com
Frank Brandmaier
Head of Corporate Media Relations
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 752frank.brandmaier@kiongroup.com
Further information for investors
Dr Karoline Jung-Senssfelder
Head of Investor Relations and M&A
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 450karoline.jung-senssfelder@kiongroup.com
End of Media ReleaseAdditional features:Picture: http://newsfeed2.eqs.com/kion/616409.htmlSubtitle: Karl-Heinz Birkner (links) und Thorsten HofmannDocument: http://n.eqs.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=VDMSGTUCOFDocument title: Download press release as PDF
Issuer: KION GROUP AG
Key word(s): Industry
06.10.2017 Dissemination of a Press Release, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de
Language:
English
Company:
KION GROUP AG
Abraham-Lincoln-Str. 21
65189 Wiesbaden
Germany
Phone:
+49 (0)611 770-0
Fax:
+49 (0)611 770-690
E-mail:
info@kiongroup.com
Internet:
www.kiongroup.com
ISIN:
DE000KGX8881
WKN:
KGX888
Indices:
MDAX
Listed:
Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
End of News
DGAP Media
616409 06.10.2017