(December 14, 2008) On December 1, 2008, Klaus Hofer (51) was appointed as the new Head of Personnel at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg). A qualified lawyer, his previous employment experience includes twelve years in the personnel and legal sections of a company in the chemical/pharmaceutical sector.

Klaus Hofer is responsible for worldwide personnel management at Heidelberg and reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer and Personnel Director, Bernhard Schreier.

"My primary objective is to use modern personnel management systems that are tailored to the company’s strategic and operational goals in order to reinforce the long-term competitiveness of Heidelberg and extend its leading position in the industry," explains Hofer.

The Heidelberg Management Board has appointed Hofer’s predecessor, Bernd Lang (64), to lead the team negotiating personnel changes linked to the cost-cutting measures announced at the end of October 2008. Once these negotiations have been completed, Mr. Lang will retire.

Bernd Lang joined the company in 1976 and has since held senior positions in the personnel section at Heidelberg, including Head of Personnel for Heidelberg as a whole, a position that he held for over 20 years. In this role, he shaped the personnel section to match the needs of an international mechanical engineering company and global market leader, and oversaw the successful introduction of structures and tools that are essential to modern personnel management. In recent years, Lang oversaw the introduction of the new framework wage agreement and the conclusion of two agreements for safeguarding the future of Heidelberg that were signed by the company, the workforce and labor unions. Lang is also an Honorary Judge at the German Federal Labor Court in Erfurt.

"We would like to thank Bernd Lang for the many years of committed and successful service he has given our company. His well-balanced personnel management skills helped to lay the groundwork for the growth that Heidelberg has enjoyed over the past three decades," stated Bernhard Schreier, Chief Executive Officer of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.