Zumtobel changes management at components subsidiary Tridonic

Date Announced: 16 Jan 2012 Dornbirn, Austria -– Changes are taking place in the management team of the Zumtobel Group's components business (Tridonic brand): Tridonic CEO Walter Ziegler and COO Rüdiger Kofahl are to leave the company at the end of January. For an interim period, the Chairman of the Management Board of Zumtobel AG, Harald Sommerer, will be taking charge of the management of Tridonic in addition to his role as Group CEO, working closely with Tridonic CFO Werner Blum. Executive search measures are being initiated to fill the two vacancies.Walter Ziegler joined the Group in 1989 as Managing Director of Tridonic's German sales company and in 1997 assumed the role of Tridonic CEO. Under his leadership, Tridonic advanced to become one of the world's leading suppliers of lighting components. Rüdiger Kofahl has been Tridonic COO since 2007, responsible for Production, Quality Management, Supply Chain, Logistics and Product Development."We owe a great debt of gratitude to Walter Ziegler for his outstanding achievements and great personal commitment. During his 22 years with the Tridonic company he has made a great contribution to the international establishment and expansion of our components business. Our thanks also go to Rüdiger Kofahl for his achievements in developing a global, flexible production network, establishing standardised production processes and improving our patent position," commented Zumtobel Group CEO Harald Sommerer."In view of the technology shift to LEDs, Tridonic is today facing some major strategic decisions. Based on its excellent customer relations, broad product portfolio and technological expertise, we can see great potential for Tridonic to strengthen its position as innovation leader in this dynamic market environment. In future, the corporate knowledge base in the areas of semiconductor technology and electronics will be more important than ever. So the technology shift is having a substantial impact on all key business processes, as well as on the requirement profile facing top management," said Sommerer, explaining the management changes.Tridonic GmbH & Co KG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zumtobel AG. In the components segment, Group sales in the 2010/11 financial year totalled EUR 437.3 million.About the Zumtobel Group:The Zumtobel Group, based in Dornbirn in the Vorarlberg region of Austria, is one of the few global players in the lighting industry. The Group, which started life as Elektrogeräte und Kunstharzpresswerk W. Zumtobel KG in 1950, employed a workforce of 7,814 full-time equivalent employees on the balance sheet date 30 April 2011 (PY:7,329) and in the 2010/11 financial year posted consolidated revenues of EUR 1,228.2 million (PY: EUR 1,114.6 million). Within its multi-brand strategy, in the professional luminaire and lighting solution business the Group is represented in the marketplace by the Thorn and the Zumtobel brands. The lighting components business(control gear, lighting management, LED components / modules) is handled by the Tridonic brand. And since the beginning of 2010 the Group has also been developing a B2C business with innovative LED lamps under the Ledon Lamp brand. The financial year of the Zumtobel Group commences on 1 May and ends on 30 April. For further information, please visit http://www.zumtobelgroup.com/en

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