Paul Karafotas becomes the new Commercial Director of Bochemie

Bohumín, 1st June, 2011 – It is a key position in the company's plans to become a significant market player in the Central European region’s segment of household care products.

The company that owns the traditional brand of SAVO has recently added BIOLIT, the leading domestic brand of consumer insecticides to its portfolio. Bochemie currently operates on several markets in Central and Eastern Europe. Paul Karafotas's most imminent tasks include further strengthening of the existing brands and their expansion in this area.

"The traditional brands we own provide opportunity for significant growth. Paul Karafotas' experience in this segment is especially valuable for us. We believe that with his help the company's new management will fully utilize the potential of its brands like SAVO, BIOLIT and Ultra," says the company's CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Francois Vleugels.

Paul T. Karafotas started his career in the early 1990s in Procter & Gamble; however, he spent the greatest part of his professional life at Reckitt Benckiser. As marketing director, he got to know the markets in the United States, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, but also in the Czech Republic, where he worked in 1996–1998. Karafotas's previous job was at Reckitt Benckiser Czech Republic, where he was Managing Director from 2002.

"Bochemie is a go-getter with high ambitions and possibilities, where managers face a number of extraordinary opportunities. It will be exciting work, and I look forward to it", says Paul Karafotas.

Paul Karafotas (44) studied economics and political science at Stanford University. He is married and has three children. In his free time, he likes to play sports and cook.

Note for editors:

• The Bochemie group is one of the most significant producers and suppliers of brand household chemicals in Central Europe. Its key brand is the traditional SAVO detergent, with a strong market position in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In selected segments, the company has up to 80% market share. In Hungary, Bochemie owns the ULTRA brand. The latest addition to the press release
• company's brand portfolio is the traditional brand of BIOLIT, the market leader in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the category of insecticides with market shares exceeding 40%.
• The group is also a global supplier of chemical specialties with high added value, including disinfectants, fungicides for treating wood, substances for metal surface treatment, and accumulator fluids.
• The joint-stock parent company of the Bochemie group is located in Bohumín, the Czech Republic, where it employs 450 people. The group further includes the Hungarian producer of household chemicals EVM, the Polish pigment producer Permedia, the Czech engineering company Ekomor, and Bochemie subsidiaries in Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Russia. The Bochemie group has 800 employees.
• The group is owned by private equity firms Benson Oak Capital and Arx Equity Partners.

For more information, contact

Bochemie, a.s.

Francois Vleugels, Managing Director
Tel: +420 596 091 320
Email: francois.vleugels@bochemie.cz

Jaroslav Sopuch, Strategic Development
Tel: +420 603 555 089
Email: jaroslav.sopuch@bochemie.cz