Leyes, Reglamentación y Controles 40

The Executive Board of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft would like to thank all of the group’s employees for their sterling work and active commitment in 2012. Our particular thanks go to the employee representatives in Germany and abroad for their responsible and constructive contributions.

There were 24,498 employees as of December 31, 2012. This represents an increase of 664 employees compared with December 31, 2011 (23,834 employees). Excluding the 202 employees from acquisitions and other changes in the basis of consolidation, the number of employees increased by 462, including 62 employees in Germany and 478 employees in Asia/Pacific alone. The GEA Heat Exchangers Segment recorded the sharpest decrease in employees, down by 359, while the GEA Process Engineering Segment saw the largest increase in capacity, up 473 employees.

Compared with September 30, 2012 (24,560 employees), the number of employees decreased by 62. Adjusted for an acquisition that led to an increase of 88 employees, the number of employees declined by 150, with the main reduction being in the GEA Heat Exchangers Segment.

Employees * by segment 12/31/2012 12/31/2011

GEA Food Solutions 1,787 1,836

GEA Farm Technologies 2,286 2,184

GEA Heat Exchangers 7,329 7,679

GEA Mechanical Equipment 3,961 3,614

GEA Process Engineering 5,566 5,093

GEA Refrigeration Technologies 3,267 3,147

Total 24,196 23,554

Other 301 281

GEA Group 24,498 23,834

*) Full-time equivalents (FTE) excluding vocational trainees and inactive employment contracts

Overall, the share of the workforce in Western Europe decreased by a further 1.1 percentage points year-on-year, and by 0.5 percentage points in North America, but increased in the growth regions of Asia/Pacific and Eastern Europe by 1.9 and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.

Employees * _{by region 12/31/2012 12/31/2011} Western Europe 14,974 61.1% 14,837 62.3% Asia/Pacific 3,992 16.3% 3,426 14.4% North America 2,335 9.5% 2,382 10.0% Eastern Europe 1,890 7.7% 1,782 7.5% Latin America 646 2.6% 716 3.0% Africa 517 2.1% 520 2.2% Middle East 145 0.6% 172 0.7% Total 24,498 100.0% 23,834 100.0%

*) Full-time equivalents (FTE) excluding vocational trainees and inactive employment contracts

As of December 31, 2012, GEA Group employed 624 vocational trainees compared with 629 at the same date in the previous year. In Germany, the vocational trainee ratio was 6.2 percent (previous year: 6.0 percent). As in the past, the vocational training level exceeds GEA Group’s own needs.

GEA Performance Share Plan

In July 2006, GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft launched a long-term remuneration program for first- and second-tier managers; this was extended to include third-tier management in 2008. As in previous years, all participants had to invest an amount equal to 20 percent of the issued performance shares. In July 2012, a seventh tranche was issued for these three management levels, with a participation rate of 63 percent. Each GEA Performance Share Plan runs for three years. The fourth tranche, which was issued in the summer of 2009, was paid out at a rate of 87.9 percent of the target value. This value was calculated by comparing GEA’s relative share price performance in the relevant three-year reference period with that of MDAX companies.

Performance management

Performance assessments are carried out at regular intervals for managers worldwide. Standardized procedures are used to assess key attributes such as a performance- and results-driven approach, assertiveness, communications skills, leadership, commitment, use of management tools, and creativity, from the perspective of both their superiors and their employees. The results are used as a basis for drawing up individual development plans and long-term personnel and succession planning.

Talent management program

In addition to the “Professionals on Stage” development assessment center, which is designed to identify future managers and which is geared towards employees worldwide with at least five years’ professional experience, a further talent identification and development program for high-potential individuals was implemented in 2011 under the name of “First Professional Program.” Its three modules give young managers who have been with GEA Group for at least two years special training to develop their skills in communication, conflict resolution, leadership, and managing change processes.

In fiscal year 2012, Absolventa GmbH, which operates a career portal designed specifically for young graduates and students, recognized GEA’s cross-segment trainee program for university graduates, which had been revamped in 2011, as a fair, career-enhancing program. Trainees are prepared at a cross- segment level for future management tasks in both commercial and technical areas, over a period of 18 months in GEA companies in Germany and abroad.

GEA Group Academy

The GEA Group Academy is the central professional development and training program for all employees. In fiscal year 2012, the GEA Group Academy offered training courses in a variety of management and leadership areas. As in previous years, these were organized in cooperation with an internationally recognized partner.

Global Business Consortium

GEA has been admitted to the London Business School’s Global Business Consortium, in which top managers from internationally renowned companies can hone their strategic skills using case studies, among other things. Board members of the participating companies are actively included in the program, where they give presentations and take part in discussion groups.

Part-time university studies

GEA aims to ensure its young talent receives first-class training, which is why it offers twin-track courses of study in cooperation with Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. Lasting six semesters, these twin-track training courses lead to bachelor degrees in various specialist areas.

At GEA, managers have the option of studying for a part-time MBA in an international environment. Corresponding cooperative agreements have been established with Mannheim University, the London Business School, INSEAD, and Harvard University.

Additional personnel-related information can be found under the Career area of our website at www.gea.com.

Personnel marketing

GEA’s online career portal was expanded with a view to increasing the Company’s attractiveness as an employer and facilitating initial contact with potential candidates, and now includes a corporate HR blog. In addition, GEA continued to exhibit regularly at university career fairs and product shows in 2012 and to expand its cooperation with student organizations such as AIESEC.

Employee-driven ideas and improvement management scheme

GEA Group promotes and harnesses the creativity and innovative capacity of each and every employee with its group-wide “i²m” ideas and improvement management scheme. I²m helps increase the group’s profitability, product quality, and quality of work, as well as customer satisfaction, in the long term. GEA Improvement Projects (GIPs) are systematically documented in addition to individual employee ideas. Acquired companies are included in the improvement system’s structures promptly.

In fiscal year 2011, GEA was singled out by Zentrum Ideenmanagement (ZI) as the sector winner in the category “Best ideas management in the engineering sector” as well as being ranked third across all sectors in Germany.

In 2012, a total of some 13,500 ideas were submitted via i²m by employees throughout the group, and around 650 GIPs were also documented, of which some 50 percent were successfully implemented in 2012. The net benefit for GEA Group from the improvement system in 2012 was EUR 19 million. In addition to its economic benefits, i²m also strengthens the corporate culture by actively including employees and motivating them to become involved in shaping their Company. Their commitment was honored in 2012 by EUR 1.3 million in bonuses paid for implemented ideas, as well as recognition bonuses and numerous noncash bonuses.

Net Assets, Financial Position, and Results of