Hempel Special Metals has appointed Dr Markus Holz new Managing Director of Special Metal GmbH in Oberhausen, Germany, and ESB GmbH in Essen, Germany. He assumes responsibility for these companies from 1 January 2010 on. Furthermore, Dr Holz will in future be coordinating the marketing activities of the trade and service centre business of the Hempel Special Metals Group in the UK, Scandinavia, Benelux, France and Italy, as well as the group’s industrial titanium activities. Before joining Hempel Special Metals, Dr Holz has worked in various managerial capacities and as Managing Director at companies within the ThyssenKrupp Group. He has many years’ experience in the field of high-performance materials, i.e. rustproof stainless steel, nickel alloys and titanium.