Aker Solutions Announces New Head of German Operations

On March 1, 2012, Einar Brønlund took over the management of Aker Wirth, a subsidiary of the international oil service company Aker Solutions. He succeeds Christoph Kleuters, who is leaving the company at his own request. Brønlund has been with the company since 2009. As CFO he has made a substantial contribution to setting the company on course for further growth.

Thor Arne Håverstad, executive vice president and head of Drilling Technologies in Aker Solutions, says Brønlund is the right person for the job. “Einar Brønlund has the right experience, qualifications and personality to manage our operations in Erkelenz. I look forward to working closely with Mr. Brønlund and his team, and to continue to develop our operations and products.”

Aker Solutions has in recent years made substantial investments in the location of Erkelenz, including a 6 million EUR test rig that was inaugurated in June 2011. Further investments in production facilities and processes are planned. “We will continue to improve the already very high levels of quality our production has. These investments will further strengthen Erkelenz and improve our competitiveness in the international environment,” says Brønlund.

“Our great strength is our high product quality and relationship with our customers in close collaboration with the Drilling Technologies global setup. We plan to build on these strengths, but we also need to develop further in order to be a strong player in our markets,” says Brønlund. “We have great potential, particularly in our technology, which is truly pioneering. The developments in the two product groups Oilfield & Pumps and Mining & Construction are very promising. Particularly the MTM will revolutionize underground mining in the long term.”

Håverstad also thanked Kleuters for his engagement at Aker Wirth: “In 1999 Christoph Kleuters was instrumental in saving the company from insolvency and laid the foundation for what Aker Wirth is today – a successful operation with a promising future. We are very thankful for Christoph’s efforts and wish him great success for the