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ISSN 1359-6128/05 © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This journal and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by Elsevier Ltd, and the following terms andconditions apply to their use:
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Josef Gerstner, the chair-man of KSB’s board of man-agement, has left the company.
In a statement, the German pump and valve manufacturer said thatGerstner and KSB were parting “by best mutual agreement.”
Gerstner joined KSBAG in 1996 as chairman of the board of managementand human resources director.He was in charge of sales/marketing and the group cor-porate development, humanresources, communicationsand internal audit functions.He was also responsible forthe KSB growth and innova-tion initiative. Gerstner’s cur-rent contract was due to end inMay 2006.
Following Gerstner’sdeparture, the chairman ofKSB’s supervisory board,Peter Schubert, has beenappointed to the board of management taking over the temporary chairmanship ofKSB AG until a successor to Gerstner is found. As aresult, Richard Lederer, amember of KSB’s supervisoryboard, who was previouslyemployed for many yearswithin KSB Group manage-ment, will head up KSB’s
supervisory board during thisinterim period.
Board of managementmembers Dr-Ing Willi Enderleand Dr rer pol Alois Wittmannwill remain in their presentroles.
KSB acknowledges thatunder Gerstner’s leadershipthe financial situation of the pump and valve manufac-turer enjoyed a sustainableimprovement and that aschairman of the board of management, he succeeded in “accentuating and promot-ing the company’s external image.”
COMMENTWith Gerstner’s suddendeparture, KSB loses a high profile, dynamic, out-ward looking leader. Under Gerstner, KSB con-tinued to expand interna-tionally, particularly inChina, India and SouthAmerica, and throughacquisitions like DP Pumpsand Bombas Itur. But whileKSB returned to profitunder Gerstner, earningsgrowth remained challeng-ing, despite a number ofrestructuring programmesand initiatives. ■
CONTENTS CALENDAR 13 COMPANY PROFILE 5–6 COMPANY WATCH 7–9 DIARY 15DIVIDENDS 11 ECONOMIC REVIEW 14 IN BRIEF 10,12,13 MARKET PROSPECTS 2–4NEWS 1,12,13,16 NPD 14 ORDERS 11 PEOPLE 10 STOCK WATCH 15
WEIR TO DIVESTTECHNA
BUSINESSESThe Weir Group plc hasentered into agreements to dispose of the desalinationand water treatment busi-nesses of its Techna Division to Veolia WaterSystems, part of VeoliaEnvironnement.
The net proceeds from the £27.7 million transactionswill be re-invested in the Weir Group’s core operations.The companies include WeirWestgarth in Scotland, WeirEntropie in France and WeirEnvig in South Africa. These businesses provide specialist engineering design and system solutions in water treatment and sulphateremoval with operations in the UK, France, South Africa, North and SouthAmerica, the Middle East andAustralia. Together they repre-sent less than 7% of WeirGroup sales. The TechnaDivision’s defence and liquidgas handling businesses ofWeir Strachan & Henshawand Weir LGE will remainwithin the Weir Group,however.
The disposal of WeirWestgarth and Weir Entropiewas completed on 8 July 2005 when £25.3 million of the aggregate considerationwas paid. The disposal of the South African company is conditional on approvalfrom the local competitionauthorities.
PUMP INDUSTRYJULY 2005
ISSN 1359-6128www.worldpumps.com
GERSTNER GOESIN KSB
SHAKE-UP
The changing dynamics of the desalination markettowards larger scale projectsand a move from design and build to ownership liebehind Weir’s decision todivest these businesses.
“This transaction is con-sistent with our strategy torealize value from our non-core assets and to focus on our core operations. This com-plements our June disposal of Flowguard Ltd, our UK pulsation dampener businessin the Engineered Productsdivision for £2.9 million,”explained Mark Selway,Weir Group chief executive.
“The desalination andwater treatment businesses,within Techna, have an excellent track record of developing specialist tech-nologies for both the desalina-tion and oil industries. Webelieve that Veolia is wellpositioned to further developthese businesses to realizetheir full potential and lookforward to a continuing rela-tionship supplying them withour specialist pumps, valvesand engineering services,”added Selway.
For the year ended 31December 2004 the threedesalination and water treat-ment businesses reported loss-es of £0.2 million on turnoverof £46.9 million. Together thebusinesses employ 230 people.All employees, including thedivisional managing director,Paul Capell, will transfer with the businesses to Veolia.