Axima Germany becomes Cofely

Cologne/Lindau, 19 November 2009 - As part of its brand alignment measures, GDF Suez is creating a single brand throughout Europe for companies in its Energy Services business line – under the name of Cofely. As a result of this brand unification, the GDF Suez subsidiary Axima Germany is to operate under the Cofely brand with immediate effect. By launching Cofely, the Group aims to expand its leading position in the key sectors of energy efficiency and environmental solutions, consolidate its presence and drive its growth forward.

In future around 35,000 employees in 15 countries, generating €8 billion in revenues, will come together under the new brand in the Group's Energy Services business line. Under the umbrella of Cofely, efficient installation engineering, building services and refrigeration technology will combine with energy generation and distribution as well as cost-effective service and multi-technical management to produce holistic solutions. GDF Suez was already Europe's leading provider in the market segments of environmental and energy efficiency – but its Energy Services subsidiaries operated under different regional corporate brands. More than half of this segment will now be gradually unified, creating the new number 1 supplier of energy efficiency and environmental services in the European market – both in terms of revenue generated and number of employees.

Cofely Germany: 1,400 employees at 21 sites

With the change of name from Axima to Cofely, the product portfolio in Germany becomes more tightly bundled under one umbrella brand. The specialists at Axima Refrigeration, a daughter company of Axima Germany, will move closer to the other business lines and appear as Cofely Refrigeration while using the same logo. In Germany Cofely will continue to pursue its current strategy, which focuses on the entire lifecycle of buildings and installations, through the four business areas of installation engineering, facility services, energy services and refrigeration, and expand its portfolio with increasingly networked solutions in these areas. In 2008 Axima achieved revenues of around € 330 million. Cofely employs around 1,400 people in Germany at 21 sites.

Brand harmonisation to increase name recognition in Europe

“Harmonisation of the Group's brand portfolio under the new identity of Cofely gives us the opportunity to achieve greater name recognition across Europe and to consolidate our position as Europe's market leader for energy-efficient solutions in the areas of engineering, installation construction and services,” explains Manfred Schmitz, CEO of Cofely Germany. “Cofely has a breadth of know-how that covers a vast range of aspects related to energy efficiency and that can justifiably be described as unique. With this knowledge we are ideally equipped to strengthen and expand our leading position on the German market for building-related installation construction, facilities engineering and process technology, facilities management, energy management and industrial refrigeration technology.”


About Cofely
Cofely is Europe's number 1 provider of energy and environmental efficiency services as well as one of the leading specialists in Germany for building-related installation construction, facilities engineering and process technology, facility management, energy management and industrial refrigeration technology. Cofely Germany and its daughter company Cofely Refrigeration, which specialises in refrigeration technology, were formed in November 2009 from the former Axima Germany and Axima Refrigeration and are part of the French GDF Suez Group. Cofely is divided into four business areas in Germany: installation engineering, energy services, facility services and refrigeration. In 2008 Axima Germany, as it was then known, generated around €330 million in revenues with a workforce of about 1,400. The company, headquartered in Cologne, has over 21 sites and some 40 service centres throughout Germany. The French parent company GDF Suez came into existence with the merger of the Suez Group and Gaz de France in July 2008. A listed company and one of the leading energy providers in the world, GDF Suez is active across the entire energy value chain, and in 2008 achieved revenues of around €83.1 billion with more than 200,000 employees.
www.cofely.de / www.cofely.com / www.gdfsuez.com

Cofely is a sponsor of the German initiative “FM – Die Möglichmacher”:
“FM – Die Möglichmacher”, which roughly translates as “FM – Making Things Possible”, is an initiative that aims to make the range of services provided by facilities management known to a wider public and to interest young talent and qualified personnel in a career in facilities management. Members of the initiative include leading German facilities management companies and the trade organisation GEFMA.
www.fm-die-moeglichmacher.de


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