• New ZF Services business unit bundles worldwide
  Aftersales activities
  
• Merger of ZF Trading with the Sales and Service
  Organization as of January 2008

Friedrichshafen/Schweinfurt (Germany)
Automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG restructures its aftersales and service organization. As of the beginning of the year, ZF Trading, responsible for the worldwide trading business with spare parts, and the ZF-Sales and Service Organization will be merged to the new business unit ZF Services. Thus, the international aftersales business will be further extended.

The merger of the previously separate business units establishes extensive growth and synergy potential for the ZF Group. In this new business unit, the improved market image can lead to more efficient processing of the existing customer portfolio. For this purpose, the wide Sales and Service network - covering 650 service locations worldwide - will be used. In China, Singapore, and Australia the aftermarket and service activities have already been merged. The target is to ensure an internationally harmonized market and aftersales strategy. In future, the ZF divisions' Aftersales Service Centers will be even more closely integrated into business. ZF Chief Executive Officer Hans-Georg Härter summarizes the strategic direction of the organizational restructuring as follows: "With ZF Services we want to make a maximum contribution to the company value".

The newly created ZF Services business unit, which brings together the product brands Sachs, Lemförder, Boge and ZF Parts under one roof, together with the service provided by the Sales and Service Organization is to generate sales of EUR 1.2 billion in 2008, with a workforce of 2500 staff and 40 worldwide locations of its own. Alois Ludwig, currently Managing Director of the Board, ZF Trading, will be responsible for the company which is headquartered in Schweinfurt and Friedrichshafen. In addition to the previous trading business, Ludwig will be Chairman of the ZF Services Board of Directors and, in this function, he will also be the Managing Director for the areas of Marketing, Communication, and HR. Matthias Benz, who was also nominated Managing Director of ZF Services, is responsible for the worldwide Sales and Service Organization, which is based in Friedrichshafen, and for the areas of Corporate Development, Organization and Legal Affairs. The areas of Finances, Controlling, IT, Purchasing, and Logistics are taken over by Managing Director Christian Haedge.

The current priority is on merging both business entities by means of an integration project. This project is to tap further crossselling potential, integrate locations, and open up new business fields. Ludwig underlines that "During this period, it is important to successfully use potential synergies within logistics, infrastructure, and when tapping into new markets". The individual sales channels will be processed more effectively with the new structure. The new business field shall grow by extending both the spare parts range but also by increasingly making use of the international service network.