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6 performance for our customers in a more competitive produc- tion environment. How do you ensure that Heraeus remains innovative throughout these changes? JAN RINNERT: Innovations are critically important for the future success of our company! Heraeus stands for continuous innova- tion in each of its markets. This is how we meet our customers’ needs. Our innovations shape the changes in our various end markets. The new Innovation Center plays an important role in this regard. Starting in 2017, it will put 200 Heraeus developers under the same roof. We are planning an ultra-modern infra- structure for research and development, offering an optimal work environment with outstanding support from our regional develop- ment center. In addition, our business units have built regional R&D centers in their core markets of Asia, the United States and Europe. We are very close to our customers and speak their respective languages. As a result, we can offer custom-tailored solutions very quickly. This significantly sets us apart from the competition and gives us a decisive competitive advantage. In order to support these efforts, last year we again increased what we spend on research and development. Are you already seeing the initial results in terms of innovations? JAN RINNERT: Let me name just three examples from the past year: In the UK, Heraeus Noblelight won the Queen’s Award for outstanding innovation. Heraeus Medical again took second place in the “Top 100” competition as one of the most innovative com- panies in Germany. And with an efficiency rating of 21.7%, we are the current world record holder for the conductivity of silver pastes for solar modules. Photovoltaics is a fiercely competitive market with extremely short development cycles and high pres- sure to use replacement metals. Even some of the start-up com- panies are receiving very good customer feedback. My list could go on and on. But what is interesting is that we are succeeding in completely different markets because our business units are so close to the customer. And with our own annual Innovation Awards, we motivate every Heraeus developer to continue devel- oping outstanding solutions and products. What are the fields where Heraeus should be marketing innovations and product solutions in the future? JAN RINNERT: We are already well positioned in many relevant fields. In the health sector, for example, we hold a strong position business easier in the past year. Some business areas managed to withstand these conditions, with systematic market develop- ment, targeted innovation and cost management that yielded good profitable growth. In other areas, we identified weaknesses in their market and competitive position that inhibited their performance. Under these conditions, we managed to achieve operational results that were still satisfactory, approximately the level of the previous year. What long-term effects do you expect from the Excellence initiatives and the Heraeus FIT program? JAN RINNERT: The Excellence initiatives and the Heraeus FIT program form the foundation for the continued positive develop- ment of Heraeus. With the call for excellence, we aim to have all Heraeus employees in every area set their sights higher for the long term. It should be a matter of course for all employees to continuously improve themselves and their work environment and to view meeting the customer’s needs as an important priority. Furthermore, in key areas of the Group we see a need to leverage short- and medium-term optimization potentials, especially in production and in production-related areas. The necessary measures and investments are brought together in the Heraeus FIT program. The systematic implementation of this program will have a significant effect on the stabilization and restoration of competitiveness for some businesses and especially for our locations in Germany. Of course, these include the investment decisions in the Heraeus Innovation Center in Hanau, as well as cutting-edge precious metals factories in Hanau. The expansion of the Wehrheim production site for Heraeus Medical is also a very important investment in the future. We expect cost optimiza- tion from the consolidation of the German locations and activities at Heraeus Noblelight as well as Heraeus Quarzglas. However, Heraeus FIT is also geared toward our international locations. For example, we are optimizing our site set-up in China and also investing in a new precious metal factory there. But we are also consolidating locations in the United States, Brazil and the Philippines. Although these investment and optimization projects vary widely, I consider them crucial. Taken together, these measures will not only ensure that we see better results in the medium term, but also enable our employees to provide outstanding »We are making good progress toward our goals, and Heraeus is leaner, faster, and more focused on our markets and customers.«

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