HERRENKNECHT CELEBRATES ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY WITH 2,000 GUESTS AND A FESTIVE GALA.

Saturday, June 28, 2008, 2,000 guests accepted the invitation of Martin Herrenknecht and the Board of Management of Herrenknecht AG to attend a dazzling and entertaining gala in the Baden-Arena in Offenburg (South Germany). 1,550 employees and 450 guests including customers, politicians and industries representatives celebrated the company’s and the company founder’s success and the mutual achievements. The motto of the night was: “Thirty years of Herrenknecht. Together through thick and thin”.

Offenburg, July 1, 2008. Martin Herrenknecht and the board members Gebhard Lehmann, Kurt Stiefel and Werner Suhm invited their guests on Saturday night, June 28, 2008, to a four-course dinner prepared by a one star Michelin chef and to an entertaining evening gala show with stars from all over the world in the Baden-Arena in Offenburg. 1,550 employees and 450 customers, business partners, politicians and industry representatives came to the gala reception at 6pm on the occasion of the 30th company anniversary. Guests included Willi Stächele, Minister of Finance of Baden-Württemberg and Helmut Rau, Minister of Culture of Baden-Württemberg, Prof. Dr. Lothar Späth, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and and former Minster President of Baden-Württemberg and the top athlete Christina Obergföll.

Gerhard Schröder, former German Chancellor, recognized Martin Herrenknecht’s merits in his greeting speech: “Martin Herrenknecht is an outstanding entrepreneur, who would need to be invented if he didn’t already exist. With courage, farsightedness, but also with his characteristic persistence, Martin Herrenknecht turned Herrenknecht AG into today’s company.” The Chairman of the Board of Management of BASF, Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht, first congratulated the employees during his speech: “Chapeau! To all the employees who contributed to your company’s success.”

Dr. Jürgen Heraeus, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Heraeus-Holding and entrepreneur colleague said: “Other people in Germany take the line of least resistance, Martin Herrenknecht is taking up grand challenges – worldwide.” Prof. Dr. Lothar Späth, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Herrenknecht AG recapitulated: “If only we had more entrepreneurs like Martin Herrenknecht in Germany, we would have to worry less.” He further praised the comradely collaboration between the head of the company and the employees, which, according to him, was – last but not least - reflected in the way they conjointly celebrate success.

However, this night was not supposed to be a night of speeches. The main focus was on an entertaining gala show including international top acts and top artists, which lasted until midnight and was hosted by German TV presenter Birgit Schrowange. The two “Ehrlich Brothers”, who belong to the world’s most famous illusionists, bent rail tracks with their bare hands to form a “30” in front of the audience. Later that night, they made the head of the company, Martin Herrenknecht, disappear ? chained up under a loomingly approaching circular saw. Some 30 seconds later Martin Herrenknecht unexpectedly reappeared on the opposite side of the ballroom. The American Peter Shub made the crowd burst into laughter with his mimic clownery. Otto and Daniel Fehrenbacher from the Restaurant “Adler” in Reichenbach created the dinner which was served at the gala night. Hundreds of waiters accomplished a logistic masterpiece serving a four-course meal to 2,000 guests without delays and mishaps. With the dessert they handed a drum to each guest and the 6,000m² convention center ballroom started to shake due to the drum roll that the audience produced under the instruction of the band “Drum Café”.

After midnight, Frank Elstner, another famous German TV presenter, hosted the show. One of the surprise highlights was the performance of Martin Herrenknecht’s three board colleagues Gebhard Lehmann, Kurt Stiefel and Werner Suhm. Wearing black tailcoats, they serenaded Martin Herrenknecht and the audience together with the “Berlin Comedian Harmonists”. The Elstner-Show ended with a goal wall shooting between “Germany” and “Spain” – forestalling bad luck. A Spanish customer gave Spain a 1:0 victory over Germany on the gala stage. The Herrenknecht Anniversary Gala ended in the early morning hours with dancing and live music and was greatly enjoyed by all guests. “It was a fantastic event for our customers and guests; strengthening the coherence within the company. Our team has been growing considerably in the last few years. I am very sure that we will also go through thick and thin in the coming years,” states the founder of the company and Chairman of the Board of Management, Martin Herrenknecht.