LUXEMBOURG — Dr. Reiner Beutel has been named Chief Executive Officer of SAF-HOLLAND Group GmbH.

His predecessor, Rudi  Ludwig, announced he will retire from day-to-day operations, with  expiration of his contract, on February 28, 2009. Ludwig will remain on the Board of Directors of SAF-HOLLAND S.A to provide strategic direction and guidance for the company.

Dr. Reiner Beutel, 49, assumed the position of CEO on February 2, 2009, in order to ensure a smooth transition of management. He has held Board of Directors seats for Haldex AB, KUKA AG and Mirror Controls International. Prior to this, as CEO and CFO of Schefenacker AG in Schwaikheim, Germany, his responsibilities included the operational and financial realignment of this international automotive supplier.

Dr. Beutel began his career after studying business administration in Germany and the USA. He earned a doctorate with a focus on strategic  planning and controlling in 1986 while working as a business consultant at A.T. Kearney GmbH. Beginning in 1989, he spent fifteen years at the Robert Bosch Group, where he served in a variety of positions with increasing management responsibility, his final position being President, Chairman and CEO of the Bosch Power Tools division in Illinois, USA.

“Dr. Reiner Beutel will strengthen our company as a proven industrial management expert with international experience, who will continue the  growth and globalization strategy initiated by Rudi Ludwig and advance  SAF-HOLLAND’s development under new economic conditions,” commented Dr. Rolf Bartke, Chairman of the Board of Directors.

The remainder of the SAF-HOLLAND Group GmbH’s Management Board remains  the same, with Wilfried Trepels as CFO, Sam Martin as COO, Detlef Borghardt as Head of the Trailer Systems Business Unit, Jack Gisinger  as Head of the Powered Vehicle Systems Business Unit and Steffen > Schewerda as Head of Group Operations.

With more than EUR 800 million in sales and approximately 3,000  employees, SAF-HOLLAND S.A. is a global manufacturer and supplier of product systems and components primarily for trailers as well as trucks, buses, and recreational vehicles.

The product range encompasses axle and suspension systems, fifth wheels, couplers, kingpins, and landing legs. SAF-HOLLAND customers include the majority of large truck and trailer producers all over the world.