In Stuttgart, the Management Board of Bitzer SE named Polish distributor Berling S. A. “Distributor of the Year 2008”. During a meeting with distributors from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), BITZER CEO and Senator h. c. Peter Schaufler presented the award to proprietor Hanna Berling. Her company, which is headquartered in Stefanowo near Warsaw in Poland, has been a partner of BITZER’s since 1992. Since then, Berling has won the Distributor of the Year award three times in all.

Friday, october 17th, was the final day of the first Chillventa, and it set a new record. The international trade fair for refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps attracted almost 30,000 visitors, clearly demonstrating the importance of this new exhibition for the entire refrigeration and air-conditioning industry.

"The success of the first Chillventa shows the importance of a revised trade fair concept, both for exhibitors and visitors," said Thomas Ernst, director of corporate communication at BITZER. "The fact that we had almost 30,000 visitors, all of them highly qualified, is proof that we’ve been working in the right direction these past few years." As the coordinator of the Chillventa advisory board, Ernst is one of the driving forces behind the new trade fair.

One of the highlights at the BITZER stand, besides the display of new products, was the presentation of the Valerius Füner Prize. The Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences gave the prize on the first day of the fair to Jürgen Essler, who completed his studies in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics at the top of his class with a mark of 1.2. In April 2008 Essler joined the research staff at the chair of refrigeration engineering and cryotechnology at the Technical University of Dresden, and he is now working in cryotechnology and various energy-related issues. Along with the prize he received a personal gift of 1,000 euros from Peter Schaufler, Senator h. c. and Chief Executive Officer of Bitzer SE.

The date for the next Chillventa has already been set. The international trade fair will be held from 13 to 15 October two years from now, and it will again be in Nuremberg.

Product News Chillventa

The new Internet appearance of Bitzer Kühlmaschinenbau GmbH is on-line: Since the beginning of September, the visitors of the www.bitzer.de website can access the desired information more quickly and more easily. In particular, the navigation structure has been improved and adapted to today's standards. The on-line connection has been the kick-off for an extremely wide-ranging project - to send your suggestions, feedback, ideas or criticism to the editiorial team, go to redaktion@bitzer.de.

Sindelfingen, September 2008. With the entry in the commercial registry of Stuttgart on 11 September 2008, the transfer of Bitzer Kühlmaschinenbau GmbH & Co. Holding KG to Bitzer SE (Societas Europaea), a European joint stock corporation, has now been concluded. The parent of 33 subsidiaries around the world and the leading technology innovator in its field, BITZER SE is the first firm in the industry to enact this new corporate form. Along with the conversion to Bitzer SE, the management levels of the joint stock corporation have also been restructured.

With the conversion of Bitzer Kühlmaschinenbau GmbH & Co. Holding KG to the Bitzer SE, the Sindelfingen-based company is adhering even more clearly to the global concept. ‘This change in the legal form of our company shows our understanding for an international and open corporate culture and our orientation towards global commitment,’ explains Senator h. c. Peter Schaufler (CEO). ‘The internationally recognized company form of Bitzer SE will make it possible for us to handle our foreign activities less bureaucratically and more quickly, and is a consistent step in our corporate development.' At the same time, the manufacturer of components for refrigeration and air-conditioning systems is making an explicit commitment to its German sites in Rottenburg and Schkeuditz as well as Sindelfingen as the company headquarters.

‘Bitzer SE is unreservedly the overall legal successor to Bitzer Kühlmaschinenbau GmbH & Co. Holding KG,' says Senator h.c. Peter Schaufler. ‘With the conversion to a SE we are taking our strong growth and our size into account and are organizing ourselves responsibly for our 2,800 employees and 33 subsidiaries worldwide.’ To safeguard and create new jobs around the world, BITZER is steadfastly committed to retaining it’s independence – all shares of Bitzer SE will remain in the hands of the sole owner Senator h. c. Peter Schaufler and will not be traded.

The merger is accompanied by a reorganization of the management level. The Board of Directors of Bitzer SE is composed of Peter Schaufler, Senator h. c. (Chairman), Christiane Schaufler-Münch and Friedrich Stähler from Deutsche Bank AG. Ongoing business is the responsibility of the Managing Directors Peter Schaufler, Senator h. c. (Chief Executive Officer), Jürgen Kleiner (Chief Procurement Officer), Richard G. Kobor (Chief Technology Officer), Hans P. Meurer (Chief Sales Officer), Dr. Christian Wahlers (Chief Financial Officer) and Christian Wehrle (Chief Production Officer). The changeover to Bitzer SE was advised by the renowned law firms Baker & McKenzie and Dr. Scholz & Partner.