Changed group organization and new manager for Sweden within BE Group

BE Group has appointed Kalle Björklund as the new head of Business Area Sweden and President of BE Group Sverige AB. Kalle Björklund is currently Marketing Manager for the Business Area, which has, to date, been headed by CEO Kimmo Väkiparta.

Kalle Björklund is 42 years of age and a graduate engineer in mechanical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. He has been employed by BE Group since 2008 in a number of different positions on the purchasing and marketing side, and he has 12 years previous experience from various management positions within Albany International in Sweden, the UK and Finland.

“Kalle has the background and experience necessary to lead BE Group Sweden forward,” says Kimmo Väkiparta, President and CEO of BE Group AB. “Together with the rest of the management team, he will continue developing the Group’s offering and strengthening positions in the key Swedish market further.” In connection with the change, Kimmo Väkiparta will leave his position as head of Business Area Sweden and President of BE Group Sverige AB, to focus fully on Group-wide matters.

At the same time, BE Group is also implementing a change in its Group organization to increase market focus and streamline the operations in Sweden and Finland.

The change entails:

• Business Area CEE being phased out in its current form and being replaced by a new structure in which the Group’s operations in the Baltic States are placed organizationally within Business Area Finland.
• The operations in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are being brought together with the Swedish companies Lecor Stålteknik and BE Group Produktion Eskilstuna in a new development organization directly beneath the CEO.
• The current Business Area Manager for CEE, Nikolai Makarov, will transfer to a newly established Group-wide role responsible for Operations development.

All changes are being implemented effective from August 15, 2013.

For further information, please contact:
Kimmo Väkiparta, President and CEO
tel.: +46 (0)705 972 342  e-mail: kimmo.vakiparta@begroup.com

Torbjörn Clementz, CFO and Executive Vice President
tel.: +46 (0)708 690 788  e-mail: torbjorn.clementz@begroup.com

BE Group, listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm exchange, is a trading and service company in steel and other metals. BE Group provides various forms of service for steel, stainless steel and aluminium applications to customers primarily in the construction and engineering sectors. In 2012, the Group reported sales of SEK 4.6 Bn. BE Group has more than 850 employees, with Sweden and Finland as its largest markets. The head office is located in Malmö, Sweden. Read more about BE Group at www.begroup.com

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