“Following our credit agreement with the European Investment Bank at the end of last year, this recent extension of maturities and volumes of our debt facilities represents a further major step towards safeguarding our solid financing base,” said GEA chief financial officer Dr Helmut Schmale. “These extensions give us a high degree of financial flexibility and answer any refinancing questions which the previous 2011 maturities entailed. The willingness of our partner banks and investors to extend their commitments underlines GEA’s strong position in the capital markets.”