A year of reflection and transformation for Aage Hempel Group

Dear colleagues, customers & partners,

The year is coming to a close; and we once again find ourselves planning for the future, but also reflecting on the events of 2019—a year of transformation for Aage Hempel Group. We have continued to be blessed with a humbling level of opportunity, and we have had the privilege this year of renewing deep relationships with old customers and partners as well as forming relationships with new customers. During this period, the Group went through a number of milestone changes in terms of strategic positioning, structural re-organization, process & tooling, ensuring we have the right fit to offer high quality services to our customers and partners. We have a tighter focus on our strategic strengths, centered on our second to none technical knowledge. We are in the midst of a far-reaching plan to transform operations and, also extremely important, bring the company more in line with what our customers & partners require and expect of us in the future.

However, the challenges facing us are huge and, in the ever-changing competitive environment in which we do business, there is no time to relax. Be it for the inherent requirements of competing in the maritime industry, for our geographic reach, the number and intrinsic difficulty of our projects or the myriad variables affecting our business, our company must be in a permanent state of innovation and continuously improve its competitiveness if we want to provide the right strategic response to this complex and dynamic environment.

Customers around the world want us as their tech partner. They need a reliable partner that can deploy the best solutions and cutting edge technology, but with maximum efficiency and competitiveness.

As we reflect, we think on who we are and who we want to be, both personally and as a company. A commitment to truthfulness and integrity is one of our fundamental business principles. Similarly; our company steadfastly considers our people not as a means, but rather the ends by which we measure our success- a human being is not merely a source of revenue, but a unique and dignified individual that must be treated equally with respect and fairness to all.

Aage Hempel is devoted to humbly providing the same high level of service to all customers, both big and small. Consequently, we seek to make our expertise easily accessible; keeping the lines of communication open in order to deliver dedicated solutions for each customer. We are committed to the coupling of courage and wisdom to move forward; confidently pursuing growth and investment under an ethical and sustainable vision.

Doing business in this unique and inspiring way requires a power that is beyond our ability to muster. I am profoundly thankful to our colleagues around the world for accepting, embracing and successfully reforging Aage Hempel. It is our hope that these things have all been clearly evident in the past year, and we will all be working to ensure they will continue into the future.

Finally, we once again express our most sincere appreciation to our valued customers and associates; wishing you and your families a happy, healthy and prosperous 2020.

Sincerely

Ioannis Papaefthymiou

Managing Director

Aage Hempel Group