ANNUAL REPORT 2011 A.S. CRÉATION TAPETEN AG

dards by an independent auditor on an annual
basis. Only after having passed the test may
forest owners market their products using the
FSC® label. Further tests down the process chain
ensure that FSC® wood is not illegally mixed
with non-certified wood. The latter tells consumers
that wood from responsible and sustainable
forest management was used for the
product in question.
Our capital expenditures also reflect our commitment
to a sparing use of resources. While
all capital expenditures required to meet the
increasingly stringent legal and regulatory
requirements count as direct capital expenditures
in environmental protection, capital
expenditures in modernisation also contribute
to environmental protection given that the use
of advanced technologies usually also entails
a higher degree of efficiency with regard to the
resources used. The high level of capital expenditures
aimed at ensuring growth as well as the
company’s future viability mean that A.S. Création
is in a good position also in this respect.
Important events in FY 2011
After many years in office, Mr Bernhard
Wagner resigned from the Managing Board of
A.S. Création with effect from March 31, 2011
for reasons of age. His successor, Karl-Heinz
Hallwig, had been appointed by the Supervisory
Board already in 2010. He joined the Managing
Board of A.S. Création Tapeten AG with effect
from April 1, 2011 and is in charge of Production
and Logistics.
In the context of the regular Supervisory
Board elections, all incumbent members of
the Supervisory Board were re-elected for a
full term of office in 2011. At the constituent
meeting of the newly elected Supervisory
Board, Mr Schneider was elected Chairman
and Dr. Liebs was elected Vice Chairman of
the Supervisory Board.
As reported under “Capital expenditures”,
A.S. Création (France) SAS acquired the remaining
shares in SCE – Société de conception et
d’édition SAS and MCF Investissement SAS at
a total price of € 7.0 million in July 2011.
Following on from the search of the company’s
premises in November 2010, Germany’s Federal
Cartel Office formally notified A.S. Création
Tapeten AG in November 2011 that administrative
offence proceedings had been opened.
The Cartel Office has raised several allegations
of what it perceives to have constituted anticompetitive
behaviour by A.S. Création Tapeten
AG and individual company executives. Apart
from A.S. Création Tapeten AG, administrative
offence proceedings have been opened against
four other renowned German wallpaper manufacturers
as well as the German Association
GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT
41