Disgruntled investors have prevailed in a battle for control of electrode maker GrafTech International.
View full sizeA GrafTech electrode used in steel making PARMA, Ohio -- An investor group led by a former director of GrafTech International has convinced a majority of shareholders that the company needs to change direction and has won three seats it sought on GrafTech's seven-member board of directors.
GrafTech is a global supplier of graphite electrodes for steel making and engineered graphite materials for the electronics, aerospace and fuel cell industries. Its commodity electrode business has struggled, facing competitive pressures from Asian companies amidst a slowdown in the steel industry.
The disgruntled group, Save GrafTech, has been led by Nathan Milikowsky, a GrafTech board member from 2010 to 2013 and a former chief executive of a company GrafTech acquired. GrafTech's board of directors and Save GrafTech have engaged in a bruising battle for control of the company since February.
Milikowsky prevailed as shareholders elected him and two associates Thursday in an anticlimatic annual shareholder meeting that took about 20 minutes at the company's headquarters.
"This is a terrific outcome for GrafTech's investors, customers and employees," Milikowsky said in a prepared release. "We are gratified by the strong shareholder support our plan has received, and we are looking forward to working constructively with Joel Hawthorne (CEO) and our other fellow directors to adopt sound strategies that will improve operations and enable the Company to realize its full potential."
The brawl resulted in Craig Shular, GrafTech's long-time CEO, stepping down, while Joel Hawthrone, formerly president of the company's Engineered Solutions division, became CEO and chairman of the board.
Following the preliminary results of the voting Thursday, the company issued a statement welcoming Milikowsky and his two fellow directors to the board.