SGL Group – The Carbon Company – and the Lindner Group – the worldwide construction specialist – announced the creation of a joint venture for „green“ air conditioning technology in buildings. The joint venture, in which SGL Group will hold a 51% stake and the Lindner Group 49%, will focus on the global growth market for energy efficient and environmentally friendly air conditioning in buildings.
– SGL Lindner GmbH & Co. KG will capitalize on the global growth market for cooling ceiling systems within „green“ construction engineering
– Win-win situation: SGL is contributing its ECOPHIT® business and Lindner its PLAFOTHERM® system expertise and sector know-how to the joint venture
Wiesbaden/Arnstorf, October 25, 2012. SGL Group – The Carbon Company – and the Lindner Group – the worldwide construction specialist – announced the creation of a joint venture for „green“ air conditioning technology in buildings. The joint venture, in which SGL Group will hold a 51% stake and the Lindner Group 49%, will focus on the global growth market for energy efficient and environmentally friendly air conditioning in buildings. The company will trade under the name SGL Lindner GmbH & Co. KG. The joint venture is expected to begin operations at the beginning of 2013. Its creation is subject to the approval of the relevant antitrust authorities.
The objective is to offer the entire value chain from basic materials, heating and cooling elements through to energy saving complete solutions for building temperature control. The joint venture will combine the materials expertise of SGL Group in the manufacture of the environmentally friendly graphite construction material ECOPHIT® with the knowhow of the Lindner Group in interior fit-out, facade construction and insulation engineering.
Burkhard Straube, Chairman of SGL Group“s New Markets Business Unit, made the following statement: „With this collaborative venture, we are responding to the increasing demand for „green buildings“, namely resource conserving, energy efficient buildings that are either newly constructed or being refurbished. In this context, modern, environmentally friendly air conditioning technology, made possible by ECOPHIT®, plays a central role. In conjunction with the Lindner Group, the leading international specialist in interior outfitting, we will be in the position to offer our partners and customers customized complete solutions, including those for large-scale projects, from a single source.“
Heinrich Büchner, CEO of the Lindner Group: „The Lindner Group has built an excellent reputation for innovative systems in the construction industry over many years. The development of sustainable, resource-conserving products and processes is a key strength of our company. SGL Group is the perfect partner for us, one that possesses the appropriate technology to raise the performance of our innovative products even higher. In the construction sector, graphite products are still in their infancy. Lindner will use its almost 50 years of experience in the construction industry to make this advanced technology accessible to our partners and customers in the form of high-performance system solutions.“
Experts have forecast that the worldwide market for „green buildings“ will grow by more than 20% a year over the next few years. This includes the construction and refurbishment of buildings to a high standard of resource-efficiency with regard to energy, water and materials usage. This development is being further accelerated by rising energy prices and stricter statutory requirements with a focus on the efficient use of resources. In Germany, the best-known project of this type is Deutsche Bank“s „Green Towers“. For this project, Lindner managed the entire interior outfitting and used SGL Group“s graphite-based ECOPHIT® products in its heating and cooling ceilings.
The material ECOPHIT® is manufactured from expanded natural graphite. It is extremely lightweight with excellent thermal conductivity. It is also non-flammable and temperature-resistant. ECOPHIT® products therefore enhance heat transfer in heating and cooling applications. Energy savings of up to 40% can be achieved compared with standard air conditioning systems. The recyclability of ECOPHIT® is also of great benefit to the „green building“ market.
SGL Group“s ECOPHIT® family of products includes graphite plates in a wide range of thicknesses as well as granules and powders made of pure natural graphite. In the future, these graphite materials will be used in cooling ceiling systems bearing the brand name „ECOPHIT® PLAFOTHERM®“.
About SGL Group – The Carbon Company
SGL Group is one of the world“s leading manufacturers of carbon-based products and materials. It has a comprehensive portfolio ranging from carbon and graphite products to carbon fibers and composites. SGL Group“s core competencies are its expertise in high-temperature technology as well as its applications and engineering know-how gained over many years. These competencies enable the Company to make full use of its broad material base. SGL Group“s carbon-based materials combine several unique properties such as very good electrical and thermal conductivity, heat and corrosion resistance as well as high mechanical strength combined with low weight. Due to industrialization in the growth regions of Asia and Latin America and increased substitution of traditional with innovative materials, there is a growing demand for SGL Group“s high-performance materials and products. Products from SGL Group are used predominantly in the steel, aluminum, automotive and chemical industries as well as in the semiconductor, solar and LED sectors and in lithium-ion batteries. Carbon-based materials and products are also being used increasingly in the wind power, aerospace and defense industries.
With 47 production sites in Europe, North America and Asia as well as a service network covering more than 100 countries, SGL Group is a company with a global presence. In 2011, the Company“s workforce of around 6,500 employees generated sales of EUR1,540 million. The Company“s head office is located in Wiesbaden.
Further information on the SGL Group can be found online at: www.sglgroup.com.
Your contact:
Corporate Communication / Tino Fritsch Telephone +49 611 6029 105 / Fax +49 611 6029 101 / Cell +49 170 540 2667 E-mail: tino.fritsch(at)sglcarbon.de / www.sglgroup.com
About the Lindner Group
With sales of around EUR 850 million, the Lindner Group is one of Europe“s leading specialists in interior fit-out, facade construction, and insulation engineering. The family company has almost 50 years of experience in „building with new solutions“, comprising the development and realization of individual and innovative project solutions. With its own comprehensive construction, planning, production, and construction site capacities, Lindner is able to carry out projects all over the world as a full-service provider. Control of the value chain and of the adaptability of the products used in interior fit-out and facade construction is decisive because in addition to the construction and refurbishment of office buildings, Lindner is also known for specialist projects such as airport terminals, train and subway stations, concert halls, and clean rooms. The realization of all projects of this kind presupposes a unique combination of costeffectiveness, visual appeal, security, demanding day-to-day functionality, and ecologically oriented implementation. This is why, for many of our customers, the individual components are developed from scratch, produced, and installed according to the technical specifications of the project in question. Furthermore, as an industry specialist, above all in the field of environmental technology, Lindner“s insulation technology for heating and cooling insulation as well as fireproofing and soundproofing is internationally renowned.
From its headquarters in Arnstorf, Bavaria, Lindner manages a global workforce of some 6,000 employees and operates over 50 subsidiaries and production sites in more than 20 countries. The majority of products we use in the marketplace, including facades, metal ceiling systems, flooring systems, wall systems, doors, and lighting, are manufactured in our own production centers.
Further information on the Lindner Group can be found online at: www.Lindner-Group.com.
Your contact:
Press Relations / Ingo Bofinger Tel.: 08723 20 2758 / Ingo.Bofinger(at)Lindner-Group.com / www.Lindner-Group.com
Important note:
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on the information currently available to us and on our current projections and assumptions. By nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, as a consequence of which actual developments and results can deviate significantly from these forwardlooking statements. Forward-looking statements are not to be understood as guarantees. Rather, future developments and results depend on a number of factors; they entail various risks and unanticipated circumstances and are based on assumptions which may prove to be inaccurate. These risks and uncertainties include, for example, unforeseeable changes in political, economic, legal, and business conditions, particularly relating to our main customer industries, such as electric steel production, to the competitive environment, to interest rate and exchange rate fluctuations, to technological developments, and to other risks and unanticipated circumstances. Other risks that in our opinion may arise include price developments, unexpected developments connected with acquisitions and subsidiaries, and unforeseen risks associated with ongoing cost savings programs. SGL Group does not intend or assume any responsibility to revise or otherwise update these forward-looking statements.
Lindner – Bauen mit neuen Lösungen.
Die Lindner Group ist Europas führender Spezialist für Innenausbau, Fassadenbau und Isoliertechnik.
Gegründet 1965 im niederbayerischen Arnstorf, erbringen wir über ein internationales Netzwerk mit einer heute einzigartigen Leistungskette „Konzepte-Produkte-Service“ komplette, maßgeschneiderte Baulösungen für unsere Kunden.
Als verantwortungsbewusstes, innovatives Familienunternehmen legen wir besonderen Wert auf eine nachhaltige Entwicklung und setzen in der Produktion und auf den Baustellen weltweit auf zukunftsorientiertes Energiemanagement und angewandten Umweltschutz.
Kontakt:
Lindner Group
Ingo Bofinger
Bahnhofstr. 29
94424 Arnstorf
+49 (0)8723/20-27 58
Ingo.Bofinger@Lindner-Group.com
http://www.Lindner-Group.com
