New supranational legal form expresses international self-image
Creglingen. In the course of an Extraordinary General Meeting on October 20, 2022, the Wirthwein family of owners decided on the conversion of Wirthwein Aktiengesellschaft into the new legal form of an SE. According to its Latin name "Societas Europaea", the legal form of the SE is a supranational legal form based on European law, which is intended to promote the formation of an open and international corporate culture. The change in legal form from a stock corporation under German law to a European stock corporation (SE) also outwardly expresses the self-image of the family-owned Wirthwein company as a pro-European oriented company with headquarters in Creglingen, Germany.
The conversion into an SE will also create a legal form for the German-based group parent company that is recognized throughout Europe as a basis for further growth in Germany - as well as internationally. Marcus Wirthwein emphasizes: "Wirthwein will keep its headquarters and head administration in Creglingen even after the change of legal form into an SE.“
Societas Europaea is now a popular and common legal form
In the meantime, many renowned companies from a wide range of industries have turned into an SE. This legal form has existed since 2004. There are now several thousand SE companies in Europe with the trend continuing to rise. The legal form of the SE is not only suitable for large capital market-oriented companies, it is also particularly interesting for medium-sized family businesses as an alternative to the regular German AG. The SE allows a high degree of flexibility in the governance structure and is particularly suitable for maintaining the character of a family business in the long term.
New legal form underlines international self-image
The SE has a positive image internationally as a supranational legal form. "We have therefore also chosen this legal form to underline our European or international orientation respectively," emphasizes Marcus Wirthwein. There will be no changes to the legal form of the other Group companies as a result of the conversion. All employment relationships in the group of companies will remain unaffected by the conversion. The existing employee representative bodies in the Group will also be retained.
The new legal form has now been registered in the commercial register: Since Monday, January 16, 2023, Wirthwein AG has been operating under the name Wirthwein SE.
Since 2005, Wirthwein Medical GmbH & Co. KG has been a subsidiary of the internationally active, family-run Wirthwein Group.