Innovations are a key element in our strategy. The growing demands placed on climate protection and energy efficiency will be a major driver of innovation in the years ahead. We regard it as our task to help create an environment worth living in by further developing our products and devising new solutions. At the same time, the growing demand for technological solutions gives us a great opportunity to stay ahead in the face of tough global competition. That is why we invested some 3.9 billion euros in research and development in fiscal 2008. At the end of the year, some 32,600 associates were working in this area. Of this total, more than 1,400 were employed in the corporate sector Research and Advance Engineering, where we lay the foundations for future products and processes.