EANS-News: VILLEROY & BOCH AND RÖDL & PARTNER AGREE ON STRATEGIC COOPERATION IN THE IT SECTOR

» Villeroy & Boch and Rödl & Partner set up joint venture to offer
SMEs IT consulting
services
» Rödl & Partner takes over operation
of Villeroy & Boch IT infrastructure
» International data processing
centre in Mettlach to undergo further expansion

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Joint Ventures/Cooperation/Collaboration

Subtitle: » Villeroy & Boch and Rödl & Partner set up joint venture
to offer SMEs IT consulting services » Rödl & Partner takes over
operation of Villeroy & Boch IT infrastructure » International data
processing centre in Mettlach to undergo further expansion

Mettlach/Nuremberg, September 30, 2010 (euro adhoc) - The ceramics
manufacturer Villeroy & Boch and the international consulting and
auditing company Rödl & Partner have agreed on long-term strategic
cooperation in the information technology sector. A joint venture was
set up in Mettlach today with the following objectives: to provide a
comprehensive consulting service for SMEs to optimise their business
processes and apply company-wide SAP solutions, and to transfer the
operation of the worldwide Villeroy & Boch IT infrastructure to Rödl
& Partner.

Villeroy & Boch and Rödl & Partner will introduce previously
independent organisational units into the joint venture `Rödl System
Integration´ (RSI). In the medium term the venture pro-poses to
employ a workforce of 100 and open up new markets in IT consulting.
RSI has the relevant expertise to implement and operate software
solutions on an SAP basis, such as Enter-prise Resource Planning
(ERP), Application Management, Customer Relationship Management
(CRM), Branch Networks and E-Business.

"Today our global IT systems are on the threshold of a new era"
declares Manfred Finger, CFO of Villeroy & Boch. "The high quality of
our IT and telecommunications infrastructure constitutes a crucial
strategic competitive advantage for us. Our cooperation with Rödl &
Part-ner guarantees this quality, enables new synergies and allows us
to offer the potential of our IT expertise to other companies. This
creates new prospects for development which will affect our entire
workforce. We also have the benefit of an ongoing dynamic IT
development with lower costs and flexibility to adjust to constantly
changing requirements."

On the basis of a long-term and comprehensive performance agreement,
the newly established Rödl & Partner subsidiary `Rödl IT Operation´
(RIO) will operate the worldwide Villeroy & Boch IT infrastructure.
RIO is assigning 22 of the company´s employees specialised in the
op-eration of SAP infrastructures for this purpose. The Villeroy &
Boch Group data processing centre, located in Mettlach, which
controls the Group´s worldwide IT and telecommunications operations
is being transferred to RIO to be integrated into the IT network of
the Rödl & Part-ner Group, which has its data processing centres in
Nuremberg and Selb.

"Villeroy & Boch has a state-of-the-art data processing centre and
extensive experience in op-timising and standardising all the key
business processes of an internationally operating manu-facturing and
trading company on the SAP platform. We plan to use these resources
effectively and, through the Rödl & Partner Group, offer our know-how
on the market" states Thomas Ochs, CIO and IT Director of Villeroy &
Boch. "We have found an ideal partner in Rödl & Partner. The company
is bringing its full range of expertise into the joint venture."

"We are breaking new ground with Villeroy & Boch by taking advantage
of the enormous po-tential of the IT competence of a leading
manufacturing company in order to provide consulting services. This
is an investment in the future to the advantage of both sides",
underlines Wolf-gang Kraus, Managing Partner of Rödl & Partner.

"We guarantee Villeroy & Boch a modern and qualitatively high-value
IT infrastructure with low costs and greater flexibility and we are
creating new opportunities for business develop-ment" says Axel
Knobe, CEO of Rödl Consulting AG. "There is, in fact, great demand
amongst SMEs for individualised IT consulting services. And the
experience gained in the field will again be of direct benefit to
Villeroy & Boch. Through the combination of IT know-how accumulated
by RSI, the IT infrastructure set up by RIO and the competence in the
IT plat-forms Microsoft Dynamics and Datev of the Rödl Group, a full
service has been created for SMEs, which is unique in this form, and
which is further supplemented by the legal, fiscal and accounting
expertise of Rödl & Partner."

The business model has been deliberately conceived as an alternative
to the trend of outsourc-ing IT structures abroad in order to save on
costs. For most SMEs effective IT technology is a strategic success
factor, and it must therefore meet standards of the highest quality
and security. A data processing centre operated directly in Germany
creates trust because all the data and technical infrastructure are
governed by a transparent legal framework. "It would be difficult to
find a family business prepared to transfer its IT to India or China
for the sake of minimal cost savings" assert Knobe and Ochs. "Our
service is based on an SME to SME structure. We speak their language
and engage in dialogue with the management of our customers on an
equal foot-ing. This strategy creates excellent opportunities for us
in the IT consulting and service mar-ket."

The conclusion of the agreement today marks a breakthrough in the IT
sector for Rödl & Part-ner. Considering the high eight-figure total
volume of business, the joint venture with Villeroy & Boch is one of
the biggest contracts in the history of the consulting and auditing
company.

Please download photos by using the following link: http://profession
als.villeroy-boch.com/mdp/sk/9df7cec4dc/IT-Joint-Venture

About Villeroy & Boch

Its head office located in Mettlach, Germany, Villeroy & Boch ranks
amongst the leading ceramics manufacturers in the world. The company
has production facilities in Europe, Mexico and Thailand. It is
represented in 125 countries by its products from the Bathroom and
Wellness, Tableware and Tile Divisions. The listed company looks back
on a company history spanning 260 years. Internet:
www.villeroy-boch.com

About Rödl & Partner

Rödl & Partner is a leading international consulting and auditing
company of German origin. It offers a range of professional services
to companies all over the world. The key business activities
constitute legal advice, tax advice, auditing and business
consulting. The chambers currently employ a workforce of 3,025 and
are represented in all the most important industrial nations in the
world, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, Western Europe,
Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Near East and the USA by 84
wholly-owned branches in 37 countries. Internet: www.roedl.de

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: Villeroy & Boch AG
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:

Villeroy & Boch AG:

Almut Hähner-Ural, Head of Press and Public Relations, Villeroy & Boch AG

Tel.: +49 (6864) 81-13 97, E-Mail: haehner-ural.almut@villeroy-boch.com

Rödl & Partner:

Matthias Struwe, Eye Communications, Agency for Press and Public Relations

Tel.: +49 (7 61) 137 62 21, E-Mail: m.struwe@eyecommunications.de

Branche: Consumer Goods
ISIN: DE0007657231
WKN: 765723
Index: CDAX, Classic All Share, Prime All Share
Börsen: Frankfurt / regulated dealing/prime standard
Berlin / free trade
Stuttgart / free trade
Düsseldorf / free trade
München / free trade