Battenfeld Extrusion Group and Cincinnati Extrusion join forces

Cincinnati Extrusion and the Battenfeld Extrusion group, both part of the privateequity investor Triton's portfolio since the beginning of 2007, will be united under a single leadership in future. Effective September 01, 2008 Wolfgang Studener, Managing Director of Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik for many years, will take over the management of both groups of companies, which, in addition to the two parent companies in Bad Oeynhausen and Vienna, include American Maplan, USA, B+C Extrusion Systems, PR China, Extrusion Kempen, Germany and the Cincinnati Extrusion subsidiaries in Japan and the USA. Studener's successor at Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik, who will take up his new responsibilities at the same time, is Rainer Kottmeier, previously General Manager of the pipe product group and a member of Battenfeld's Management Board. The top management of Cincinnati Extrusion will remain in the experienced hands of Walter Haeder. Studener: "Our aim is to respond appropriately to the changes in general conditions caused by the economic slowdown in our industry, to keep our companies on course and to rally their strength for the future. Towards this end, we will streamline the organizations of both Battenfeld and Cincinnati, adapting them even more than before to our respective markets of pipe, profile and sheet extrusion, and to accentuate the particular strengths of our two brands. We see these strengths primarily in our engineering and process technology skills rather than in making every single screw ourselves." The reorganization of both groups of companies will manifest itself in intensified back-end integration, by pooling the corporate sectors strategic purchasing, production, logistics and financial administration of both groups of companies. The production of the vital components such as extruder screws and extrusion dies, which requires special extrusion equipment know-how, will remain at the facilities in Vienna, Bad Oeynhausen and McPherson, USA (American Maplan). Here, the focus will be on a drastic reduction in delivery times. An important tool to implement these measures is Lean Six Sigma (LSS), which has been applied successfully in Bad Oeynhausen and Vienna since the beginning of 2008. Studener: "With the implementation of these measures, we see ourselves optimally prepared for future success. In this connection I am very pleased that we have been able to secure the cooperation of Dr. Henning Stieglitz, an experienced manager and proven industry expert. Effective November 01, 2008, Dr. Stieglitz will strengthen the senior management team of Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik." Company Press Release