LUXEMBOURG — Sam Martin, chief operating officer of SAF-Holland Group and president of American subsidiary SAF-Holland Inc., is resigning from his operating activities at the end of 2010 at his own request.

Officials say he will remain available to the company to help insure a smooth transition in leadership. He is expected to be nominated to join the board of directors at the company’s annual general meeting on April 28. His responsibilities in the management board will be redistributed and the board will also be reduced in size, according to officials.

Jack Gisinger is slated to succeed Martin as president of the American subsidiary SAF-Holland and will take up his new position as of Jan. 2. At the same time, Detlef Borghardt will assume the position of deputy CEO of the entire Group and will take over the responsibility for the strategic planning. The COO function will therefore be dropped in the future, the company says.  

“Sam Martin’s decision to end his active career marks the departure of a strong leader who had a formative influence on the company. He made a vital contribution to SAF-Holland, a company recognized today as a technology leader and a strong brand in many of our international markets. The board would like to thank Sam, also on behalf of all his colleagues and staff, for the outstanding work he has done. Jack Gisinger and Detlef Borghardt are recognized market experts who will continue to pursue our corporate strategy and we are very pleased that they have taken on these new responsibilities”, said Bernhard Schneider, chairman of the board of directors at SAF-HOLLAND S.A.  

Martin was appointed to the management board in 2007 in the course of the initial public offering of SAF-Holland Group. After gaining initial professional experience as a metallurgical engineer, Martin, who holds a Ph.D. in engineering, joined the company in 1974 and soon took up management positions.  

In further changes to the SAF-Holland management board, Dr. Martin Kleinschmitt has resigned as chief restructuring officer. Officials say the move is consistent with the completion of the company’s restructuring program that was introduced two years ago and the conclusion of his function as CRO was a planned event. 

The rest of the SAF-HOLLAND Group GmbH’s Management Board remains unchanged.