LECO Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc

- CFO Vincent K. Petrella to add responsibility for Lincoln Electric Canada CLEVELAND, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) today announced the promotion of Vincent K. Petrella, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and George Blankenship, Senior Vice President, Global Engineering and U.S. Operations, to expanded roles within the Company. Mr. Petrella will now have responsibility for the Lincoln Electric Company of Canada added to his duties, including sales, marketing and operations. In his current role as Lincoln's Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Petrella leads the Company's global finance organization, investor relations, audit function and risk management. He is also adding responsibility for corporate relations, covering media and external communications. Mr. Blankenship is being promoted to the newly created position of President, Lincoln Cleveland, and will have marketing, sales and operations responsibility for the Company's major domestic operations, including its Euclid and Mentor, Ohio, plants. In addition, he will continue to lead the Company's global R&D and technology transfer functions. Both executives will report to John M. Stropki, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Vince and George have demonstrated exceptional performance in their respective areas of finance and engineering," said Mr. Stropki. "Vince has done an excellent job in providing Lincoln's Board of Directors with insight from both a strategic and financial perspective, helping to guide our investment decisions and global expansion. We look forward to his expanding role in applying his global perspective, financial experience and commitment to the Company in new ways that will also contribute to the continued growth of our Canadian operations. "Under George's leadership, our engineering, manufacturing and R&D expertise has grown and strengthened. He is an excellent fit for this new leadership role based on his insight and understanding of our products, manufacturing processes, business structure and culture -- all of which are critical to our competitiveness and growth in the U.S. and global marketplace. "George and Vince are representative of the overall strength of Lincoln's management team and the capability we have to promote from within our own ranks people who understand the Company, our culture and the welding industry." Mr. Petrella joined Lincoln in 1995 as Manager of Internal Audit. He was named Corporate Controller in 1997 and elected an officer of the Company in 2001. In 2004, he was elected Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President. Prior to joining Lincoln, Mr. Petrella was with the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers for 13 years and held a number of management-level positions, including a two-year assignment in the firm's London office. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in accounting from Baldwin-Wallace College and received his CPA in 1984. He is a member of the Ohio Society of CPAs and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Blankenship joined the Company in 1985 as an engineering trainee and has held engineering and product development management positions of increasing responsibility. In 2005, he was appointed to his most recent position as Senior Vice President, Global Engineering and U.S. Operations. Mr. Blankenship earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from The Ohio State University and holds numerous patents in the field of welding. Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc-welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Lincoln has 37 manufacturing locations, including operations, manufacturing alliances and joint ventures in 19 countries and a worldwide network of distributors and sales offices covering more than 160 countries. For more information about Lincoln Electric, its products and services, visit the Company's Web site at http://www.lincolnelectric.com/. DATASOURCE: Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. CONTACT: Media, Roy L. Morrow, +1-216-383-4893, , or Investors, Joseph P. Kelley, +1-216-383-8346, , both of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. Web site: http://www.lincolnelectric.com/

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