Organisational changes in Broström


Organisational changes in Broström

The board of Broström AB has proposed a new organisational structure for the
Swedish-based tanker company, in connection with the merger of the activities
with the Maersk Tankers activities. 


The purpose is to ensure that Broström will continue as a strong brand and
further build on the Broström heritage. The new setup means that all vessels in
the segment below 25,000 dwt from both companies will trade under the Broström
name, commercially managed from Gothenburg, Sweden.
The proposed new setup means that all vessels above 25,000 dwt, except for
tonnage managed out of Broström's Paris office, are intended to be integrated
into Handytankers, which is Maersk Tankers' commercial vehicle in this segment.
The Handytanker pool is managed from Copenhagen, Denmark.
All technical and support functions in Broström and Handytankers are intended to
be integrated with Maersk Tankers' central organisation in order to have a
cost-effective organisation.
“With this business model we will create two leading brands within the product
tanker industry and have a lean organisational structure strengthening our
competitiveness”, says Kristian Mørch, Chief Operating Officer of Maersk
Tankers.
He adds: “The current state of the global economy represents extraordinary
challenges in all industries, and as others we also have to reduce our costs
significantly to remain competitive and make sure that we have the strongest
possible platform for engaging those challenges”.
The oil industry needs more flexible transportation solutions because of the
world's increased demand for energy, and the dislocation between consumption and
production of energy.
“We can offer a superior worldwide service by having a large homogenous fleet,
and this merger enables us to combine the strengths and scale of Maersk Tankers
and Broström. In addition, with a large fleet we can optimise our vessels so we
on average end up discharging our cargoes closer to the next load port, and
thereby increase utilisation”, says Kristian Mørch.

It is the clear ambition that all the current partnerships of both Broström and
Maersk Tankers will continue to exist in the new and combined structure. 

The proposed new joint organisation means that some of Broström's current
offices will close or be scaled down. The offices in Larvik and Holbæk are
planned to close while Broström's office in Singapore will reorganise and scale
down. The office in Gothenburg is intended to end up with roughly the same
amount of staff but the corporate functions and support functions will be scaled
down, while the commercial functions will grow.
Altogether, this means that around 70 positions are expected to be transferred
or made redundant in Gothenburg, Larvik, Holbæk and Singapore, but new jobs will
also be created.
In the coming weeks, Broström will consult employee representatives and unions
in order to finalise the specific structure of the new joint organisation.
The above will not result in any changes for the seafarers.
Furthermore, Managing Director Lennart Simonsson and Deputy Managing Director
Anders Dreijer have in connection with the organisational changes chosen to step
down, but will both continue as special advisors. Until a new Managing Director
has been appointed, Kristian Mørch will devote significant time to the
integration of Broström.
The final completion of the new joint organisation, including remodelling of
activities and relocation of employees, is expected to be completed by the end
of 2009.
Göteborg, 25 February 2009

BROSTRÖM AB (publ)

For further information, please contact 
Kristian Mørch, Chief Operating Officer, Maersk Tankers, through Group Relations
               on +45 6120 0191. 

Background information
The combination of Maersk Tankers and Broström will form the world's leading
product tanker company with about 220 product tankers currently trading, of
which about 130 vessels are owned and long-term chartered. 



Broström is one of the leading logistics companies for the oil and chemical
industry, focusing on industrial product and chemical tanker shipping and marine
services. Broström is based worldwide, with head offices in Göteborg, Sweden.

Attachments

02252046.pdf