ElringKlinger : Professor Walter H. Lechler passed away

Professor Walter H. Lechler passed away

Dettingen/Erms (Germany), May 18, 2018 +++ The long-time Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ElringKlinger AG, Professor Walter Herwarth Lechler, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Thursday, May 17, 2018, at the age of 75. The day before his death he had attended the Annual General Meeting of the Group and exercised the voting rights of the Lechler family.

"The news of Professor Lechler's passing has filled us with tremendous sadness," says Klaus Eberhardt, Lechler's successor as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. "In him ElringKlinger has lost a seminal father figure. The idea of corporate responsibility was always of paramount importance to him, which fundamentally also included social aspects. Our thoughts are with his wife and his family."

Professor Lechler was the son of a Stuttgart-based family of merchants and was himself an entrepreneur throughout his lifetime. In 1972, following his studies in business administration in the United States and Cologne, he became a member of the shareholder committee of the company then known as Elring GmbH. In 1989 he was appointed chairman of that committee. He sat on the Supervisory Board of ElringKlinger AG and its predecessor company ZWL Grundbesitz- und Beteiligungs-AG from 1976 onward, as from 2012 as its Chairman. Having stepped down from the Supervisory Board in May 2017 on the grounds of age, he was elected as its Honorary Chairman. One month later the Evangelische Hochschule Ludwigsburg (Protestant University of Applied Sciences) made him an Honorary Professor. Additionally, he held the position of managing partner of Lechler GmbH, Metzingen, from 1976 onward.

"Alongside his deep entrepreneurial conviction and his exceptional social commitment, I was particularly impressed by his astute ability to focus on that which was essential," says Dr. Stefan Wolf, CEO of ElringKlinger AG. "With his calm mindset, he examined complex issues in a perceptive and well-judged manner even during hectic times in order to arrive at solutions of long-term merit. In doing so, he became a role model for me and for many others within and beyond the company. He will be sorely missed by the ElringKlinger family and by me personally."

While the death of Walter H. Lechler is tragic news for ElringKlinger AG, it will not lead to any significant changes. As the head of his family, he made provisions for his estate well before his death. The ownership interest of 22 % in ElringKlinger AG, which Walter H. Lechler held himself up to his death, will be transferred to the family trust that had been founded by his uncle Klaus Lechler upon his death. Thus, in future the trust will hold, either directly or indirectly, 52 % of the interests in ElringKlinger AG. The aim of the trust is to ensure the ongoing development of ElringKlinger AG as a company.

For further information, please contact:
ElringKlinger AG | Dr. Jens Winter | Strategic Communications
Max-Eyth-Straße 2 | 72581 Dettingen/Erms | Germany
Phone: +49 7123 724-88335 | Fax: +49 7123 724-85 8335
E-mail: jens.winter@elringklinger.com

About ElringKlinger AG
As an automotive supplier, ElringKlinger has become a trusted partner to its customers - with a firm commitment to shaping the future of mobility. Be it optimized combustion engines, high-performance hybrids, or environmentally-friendly battery and fuel cell technology, ElringKlinger provides innovative solutions for all types of drive systems. ElringKlinger's lightweighting concepts help to reduce the overall weight of vehicles. As a result, vehicles powered by combustion engines consume less fuel and emit less CO2, while those equipped with alternative propulsion systems benefit from an extended range. In response to increasingly complex combustion engine technology, the Group also continues to make refinements with regard to gaskets in order to meet the highest possible standards. This is complemented by solutions centered around thermal and acoustic shielding technology. Additionally, the Group's portfolio includes products made of the high-performance plastic PTFE which are also marketed to industries beyond the automotive sector. These efforts are supported by a dedicated workforce of more than 9,600 employees at 45 ElringKlinger Group locations around the globe.