26 November 2009

Hill & Smith Holdings PLC

Board Changes

Appointment of Chairman

Hill & Smith Holdings PLC ("Hill & Smith" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Bill Whiteley as a Director of the Company and as Chairman with effect from 1 January 2010.

Mr Whiteley spent the majority of his career at international engineering group Rotork plc, where he was Chief Executive from 1996 to 2008.  In July 2009, he became Chairman of Spirax Sarco Engineering plc, the FTSE 250 engineering group, having been a non-executive director for seven years. He is also a non-executive director of Brammer plc and Renishaw plc.  He was a non-executive director of Dialight plc, formerly Roxboro Group plc, from 2001 until earlier this year.

David Grove, Chief Executive of Hill & Smith since March 1998 and Chairman from May 2007, will retire from the Board as planned on 31 December 2009. 

Clive Snowdon, Senior Independent Director of Hill & Smith, said:

"From a strong list of candidates, we are very fortunate to have secured Bill Whiteley's services. He brings to the Board extensive experience of the industrial engineering sector, and a proven track record in both international expansion and in delivering shareholder returns. He is therefore exactly the right man to succeed David Grove, who has led Hill & Smith with vision and energy over many years. On behalf of the Board, I thank David for his significant contribution to the company's success."

Bill Whiteley said:

"I am very pleased to be taking on this role. Hill & Smith clearly has many strengths and I look forward to working with Derek Muir and the rest of the Board to build on the significant achievements to date." 

David Grove said:

"Over the last decade Hill & Smith has developed into a leading international player in its chosen markets.  There is a very strong and entrepreneurial management team in place, and I am delighted that Bill Whiteley is succeeding me as Chairman in order to lead the next stage of the company's growth."

There are no further matters required to be disclosed by paragraph 9.6.13 of The Listing Rules.

    

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For further information, please contact:
Hill & Smith Holdings PLC	Tel: 44 (0)121 704 7430
Derek Muir, Group Chief Executive
Mark Pegler, Finance Director
Hogarth Partnership Limited	Tel: 44 (0)20 7357 9477
John Olsen / Barnaby Fry / Vicky Watkins

  

Notes to Editors

Hill & Smith Holdings PLC is an international group with leading positions in the design, manufacture and supply of infrastructure products and galvanizing services to global markets. It serves its customers from facilities principally in the UK, France, USA, Thailand and China.

The Group's operations are organised into three business segments:

Infrastructure Products which supplies products and services such as permanent and temporary road safety barriers, street lighting columns, bridge parapets, temporary car parks, "GRP" railway platforms, variable road messaging solutions, traffic data collection systems, plastic drainage pipes and pipe supports for the power and LNG markets, energy grid components and security fencing.

Galvanizing Services which provides zinc and other coatings for a wide range of products including fencing, lighting columns, structural steel work, bridges, agricultural and other products for the infrastructure and construction sectors.

Building and Construction Products which supplies roofing systems, safety handrails and flooring, lintels and doors in steel and, increasingly, composite materials. The range of uses for these products include large infrastructure projects involving schools and other public buildings.

Headquartered in the UK and quoted on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: HILS.L), Hill & Smith Holdings PLC employs some 3,300 staff across 54 sites, principally in 5 countries. In the year to 31 December 2008, it generated revenues of £419.8 million.

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