STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan. 16, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Clas Ake Hedstrom, President and CEO of Sandvik AB, will leave his position in conjunction with the Annual General Meeting on 7 May 2002. Clas Ake Hedstrom will be 63 in July and has been employed with the company for 37 years, of which he has spent eight as President.
The Board of Directors has today appointed Lars Pettersson, 47, as new President and CEO, as of 7 May 2002. He is currently Executive Vice President of the Group, President of Sandvik Specialty Steels Business Area and President of Sandvik Steel.
Percy Barnevik, Chairman of Sandvik AB since 1983, has expressed his desire to step down and declined reelection. The Board intends to elect Clas Ake Hedstrom as new Chairman.
Clas Reuterskiold has declined reelection after five years on the Board.
The Nominating Committee, which consists of representatives of the major shareholders, Industrivarden, Handelsbanken's Foundations, Robur and Alecta, as well as the Chairman, has nominated Anders Nyren, President of Industrivarden, and Lars Pettersson, new President of Sandvik, as new Board members. The Nominating Committee has expressed its support for the election of Clas Ake Hedstrom as Chairman of the Board.
In addition, the Board has today decided to appoint Percy Barnevik to the position of Honorary Chairman when he leaves the Board.
"The nearly 19 years as Chairman of Sandvik have been an exciting journey. The company has expanded, while maintaining a high level of profitability. During Clas Ake Hedstrom's eight-year presidency, growth has increased considerably and we have also seen an increased focus on the three legs: Tools, Mining Equipment and Specialty Steels. Sandvik is now a world leader in most of its product areas. Despite worldwide operations, Sandvik has also succeeded in maintaining and developing its historical spirit of unity, innovation and customer-orientation through the years. This has been crucial to the company's success. It is also satisfying that the succession to the post of president has also been secured this time with the appointment of a highly qualified successor from within the Group," says Percy Barnevik.
"As Chairman of Sandvik, Percy Barnevik has been a very great asset, with his extensive knowledge of Sandvik and the Group's global markets. His intense commitment has resulted in successful development for Sandvik. This can be exemplified by the fact that Sandvik's invoicing during this period has grown by 500%, its earnings by 1,000%, and its share price by 2,000%. Sandvik's shareholders and employees have every reason to express their gratitude to Percy Barnevik," says Clas Ake Hedstrom.
Lars Pettersson holds an M.Sc. degree in engineering physics and has been employed with Sandvik since 1979. After working with materials and product development for Sandvik Steel and Sandvik Coromant, as well as marketing in the US, he was appointed Vice President with responsibility for production and logistics within Sandvik Coromant in 1992. When Clas Ake Hedstrom left the post of President of Sandvik Coromant and Sandvik Tooling in 1994, he was succeeded by Lars Pettersson. In March 2000, Lars Pettersson was appointed President of Sandvik Steel and President of the Sandvik Specialty Steels Business Area, while also being named Executive Vice President of the Sandvik Group.
"With 22 years at Sandvik, Lars Pettersson has particularly broad experience of operations and has enjoyed major success in heading the development of Sandvik Tooling and Sandvik Specialty Steels. He has also served as Executive Vice President since the spring of 2000. Lars Pettersson is a highly qualified new President for Sandvik," says Clas Ake Hedstrom.
Sandvik is a high-technology engineering group with advanced products and world-leading positions in selected areas - tools for metalworking, machinery and tools for rock excavation, stainless steel, special alloys and resistance heating materials and process systems. The Group has 35,000 employees in 130 countries, with annual sales of approximately SEK 44 billion.
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