GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft: GEA signals commitment to greater diversity

GEA signals commitment to greater diversity

Düsseldorf, August 21, 2012 - GEA has signaled its clear commitment to promoting diversity in the group by signing all of the diversity charters in the European Union within a short period of time. The Düsseldorf-based engineering company recently signed the last of a total of eight documents at EU level in Alcobendas, near Madrid, Spain.

'Responsible diversity management is key to securing GEA's competitive advantage in a global environment both now and in the future. Not least against the background of demographic change, we believe that diversity is a strategic success factor that allows us to tap the potential of our employee structure - strengthening GEA inside and outside,' said Dr. Stephan Petri, the Member of the Executive Board of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft who is responsible for human resources and legal affairs.

A diversity charter is a document signed by companies and public institutions on a voluntary basis. By ratifying the charters, GEA signals its commitment to promoting diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace, independent of nationality, gender, age, disability, or religion, for example. There are currently eight diversity charters in the European Union, all of which GEA has signed: in Germany, the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, Poland, Sweden, and Spain.

GEA established its own diversity management program in 2011 to promote diversity in the composition of its workforce on a long-term basis. GEA believes that integrating diversity into its corporate culture will provide valuable answers to the challenges posed by demographic change. The signing of the European diversity charters will be followed by further measures to promote diversity at the Dusseldorf-based engineering company.

About GEA Group
GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft is one of the largest suppliers of process technology and components for the food and energy industries. As an international technology group, the Company focuses on sophisticated production processes. In 2011, GEA generated consolidated revenues in excess of EUR 5.4 billion, 70 percent of which came from the food and energy sectors, which are long-term growth industries. The group employed about 24,000 people worldwide as of June 30, 2012. GEA Group is a market and technology leader in its business areas. It is listed in Germany's MDAX stock index (G1A, WKN 660 200) and the STOXX^(R) Europe 600 Index. Further information is available on the Internet at: www.gea.com.

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