- “Utz-Hellmuth Felcht Award” for internationally outstanding research achievements
in carbon materials to be offered for the first time as of 2010.
Wiesbaden, November 10, 2009. SGL Carbon SE has announced today that Professor Utz-Hellmuth Felcht (62) has resigned from the Supervisory Board as of November 1, 2009 owing to changes in his personal professional priorities.
Prof. Utz-Hellmuth Felcht had been a member of the SGL Carbon Supervisory Board ever since its formation in 1992. From 1992 until 2004 he headed the Board as Chairman. After relinquishing the chairmanship to Max Dietrich Kley, Prof. Felcht served on the Personnel Committee and later led the Strategy Committee.
Both the Supervisory Board and the Board of Management thank Prof. Felcht for having assumed such a longstanding and constructive role over so many years in supporting the Company's business development as a founding member, Chairman and member of the Supervisory Board. Particular mention should be made of his personal commitment in the preparation of the stock exchange listing (IPO) in 1995 and the Company's resulting independence. In his function as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Prof. Felcht was highly instrumental in guiding the Company through periods of economic difficulty. The Company never failed to benefit from his wide experience and expertise.
In recognition of Prof. Felcht's services to the Company, SGL Group also announced that it has established the “Utz-Hellmuth Felcht Award”. This award, endowed with 20,000 Euro, will be assigned biannually for outstanding scientific achievements in the carbon arena, either in Germany or abroad.
According to the Corporate Governance Principles of the Company, the Nomination Committee of the Supervisory Board will propose a successor for rapid registration by the responsible court.
SGL Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of carbon-based products. It has a comprehensive portfolio ranging from carbon and graphite products to carbon fibers and composites. SGL Group’s core competencies are its expertise in high-temperature technology as well as its applications and engineering know-how gained over many years. These competencies enable the Company to make full use of its broad material base. SGL Group’s carbon-based materials combine several unique properties such as electrical and thermal conductivity, heat and corrosion resistance as well as high mechanical strength combined with low weight. Due to the paradigm shift in the use of materials as a result of the worldwide shortage of energy and raw materials, there is a growing demand for SGL Group’s high-performance materials and products from an increasing number of industries. Carbon and graphite products are used whenever other materials such as steel, aluminum, copper, plastics, wood etc. fail due to their limited properties. Products from SGL Group are used predominantly in the steel, aluminum, automotive, chemical and glass/ceramics industries. However, manufacturers in the semiconductor, battery, solar/wind energy, environmental protection, aerospace and defense industries as well as in the nuclear energy industry also figure among the Company’s customers.
With 40 production sites in Europe, North America and Asia as well as a service network covering more than 100 countries, SGL Group is a company with a global presence. In 2008, the Company’s workforce of around 6,500 generated sales of €1.6 billion. The Company’s head office is located in Wiesbaden/Germany.
This press release contains statements on future developments that are based on currently available information and that involve risks and uncertainties that could lead to actual results deviating from these forward-looking statements. The statements on future developments are not to be understood as guarantees. The future developments and events are dependent on a number of factors, they include various risks and unanticipated circumstances and are based on assumptions that may not be correct. These risks and uncertainties include, for example, unforeseeable changes in political, economic and business conditions, particularly in the area of electric steel production, the competitive situation, interest rate and currency developments, technological developments and other risks and unanticipated circumstances. We see other risks in price developments, unexpected developments relating to acquired and consolidated companies and in the ongoing cost optimization programs. SGL Group does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
