Highway Holdings Appoints New Directors
April 01 2020 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Highlights
Company’s Efficiency and Competitive Position
Highway Holdings Limited (Nasdaq:HIHO) today announced
its board of directors has appointed two new directors, Heiko
Sonnekalb and Dirk Hermann, to fill existing vacancies --
complementing the company’s ongoing rejuvenation to support
near-and long-term growth.
“Highway Holdings has been engaged in a multi-year strategic
initiative to reposition itself as a leading manufacturing company.
The benefits that attracted us to manufacture in China are no
longer present. Therefore, in the past few years, in order to
rejuvenate this company, we have moved most of our manufacturing
from China to a brand-new facility that we built in Myanmar. We
have also enhanced our workforce by replacing older managers with
younger employees through attrition, and by improvements to our
technical team, while sharply reducing head count in China to
approximately 100 employees today from around 2,000 employees in
2007. By upgrading our operations and procedures, we are now able
to offer customers more cost-effective manufacturing choices and
high-quality products. Equally important, we have strengthened our
financial position by shedding many of the social liabilities
imposed on us in China. In short, today we are essentially an
entirely new organization compared with the operation from just a
few years ago,” said Roland Kohl, chairman, president and chief
executive officer of Highway Holdings.
“The appointments of Heiko and Dirk support and enhance these
initiatives. Both new directors offer a wealth of experience in
finance, banking, manufacturing and distribution, all of which will
be invaluable to Highway Holdings as we execute on our strategic
growth initiatives. The company is at an important juncture in its
evolution, and we look forward to benefiting from the advice and
counsel of our new board members,” Kohl said.
He highlighted the company’s strong financial position, which
gives the company the ability to further evolve through the
possible acquisition of other businesses. “We are well-positioned
to take advantage of the financial pressures the coronavirus has
placed on some of our financially weaker competitors, and we are
well-positioned with a healthy balance sheet and no debt to gain
new customers and take advantage of opportunities as they present
themselves,” Kohl added.
The company’s new director Mr. Heiko Sonnekalb, 49, has
extensive industrial manufacturing experience and currently serves
as chief executive officer for three German companies, which offer
a variety of products and services: Dr. Arnold Schaefer GmbH, a
German holding company; Lakal GmbH, a manufacturer of shutter
blinds; Bartz Werke GmbH, a German casting foundry and heat and
pipe technology company. In addition, he serves as a director of
Germany-based Herweck AG and Stadtwerke Voelklingen Vertrieb GmbH.
Mr. Sonnekalb also is as a member of both the IHK Saarland
Industrial Research and Foreign Trade Committee and the DIHK Berlin
Industrial Research and Foreign Trade Committee. He also serves as
an honorary judge for the labor court in Saarbruecken, Germany.
The company’s other new director. Dr. Dirk Hermann, Ph.D., 56,
has extensive experience in the insurance and financial services
industries. He currently serves as chief executive officer of
Saarland Feuerversicherung AG and Saarland Lebensversicherung AG,
two German insurance companies. He joined Bayerische
Versicherungskammer in 2012, parent company of Saarland Insurance
Group. Previously he held a variety of positions with Allianz
Versicherungen AG, including a tenure as a member of the management
board. Hermann also serves on the board of two German banks,
Landesbank Saar and Sparkassenverband, and on the board of the
Consul Investment company. He previously served on the company’s
board from 2003-2010, resigning his board position to allow more
independent directors to be appointed. He is the brother in-law of
the chief executive officer.
Kohl added that as the global coronavirus pandemic evolves,
management will continuously evaluate systems and procedures in
China and Myanmar to maintain a safe and healthy operating
environment. “These are challenging times, with great
opportunities. We are committed to safeguard our employees, find
solutions for our customers and enhance our shareholder value,” he
said.
About Highway Holdings
Highway Holdings produces a wide variety of high-quality
products for blue chip original equipment manufacturers -- from
simple parts and components to sub-assemblies and finished
products. Highway Holdings’ administrative offices are in Hong
Kong, and its manufacturing facilities are in Shenzhen in the
People’s Republic of China and Yangon in Myanmar.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the
matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking
statements which involve risks and uncertainties, including but not
limited to economic, competitive, governmental, political and
technological factors affecting the company's revenues, operations,
markets, products and prices, and other factors discussed in the
company’s various filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including without limitation, the company’s annual
reports on Form 20-F.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200401005160/en/
Gary S. Maier Maier & Company, Inc. (310) 471-1288
Highway (NASDAQ:HIHO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Highway (NASDAQ:HIHO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024