SPX Reinforces Commitment to Further Expansion in South Africa During Chief Executive's Trip to Johannesburg
JOHANNESBURG - March 12, 2008 - During his visit to Johannesburg this week, SPX Corporation (NYSE: SPW) CEO Christopher J. Kearney reaffirmed the company's strong commitment to continued growth and expansion in South Africa, highlighting the meaningful role SPX expects to play in helping meet the country's growing energy infrastructure needs.
"South Africa is on the horizon as the next growth region. We have a strong commitment to growing our business here over the long term and continuing to invest in our facilities and employee base," said Mr. Kearney.
In December 2007, SPX's Thermal Equipment and Services affiliate was awarded a $235 million contract from Hitachi Power Africa (Pty) Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi Power Europe GmbH (HPE) to provide critical products for South Africa's new Medupi power station. Under the terms of the contract, SPX will supply Balcke-Dürr branded pulse jet fabric filters and air pre-heaters, which are designed to help reduce emissions and enhance the productivity and efficiency of the Medupi plant. SPX will also provide pressure parts for six 800 MW boilers.
"We look forward to working with Hitachi on outfitting Eskom's new Medupi power plant and to future opportunities in which SPX can assist with the South African government's broader energy infrastructure initiatives," added Kearney.
Kearney was in South Africa to meet with customers, including Hitachi Power Africa, and tour SPX facilities such as the company's Nigel factory, where a facility expansion is to begin this month. The expanded facility is expected to be completed in November 2008. Kearney also met with employees to discuss his commitment to South Africa and share with them his strategy for growing the business.
SPX's family of companies in South Africa includes SPX Cooling Technologies/DB Thermal and Balcke-Dürr. These business units supply cooling towers and thermal components for power plants and serve as a major provider of service for existing power plants in South Africa, including upgrades of Eskom's fleet of existing power plants. Most recently, the companies played an integral role in "Return to Service" projects at a number of the country's power plants, including Camden, Komati and Grootvlei.
SPX has approximately 500 permanent and contract employees working at offices in Woodmead and Nigel and at four major sites: Camden, Komati, Sasol Secunda and KBR Sasol. Engineers, project managers and workers comprise the employee base. The company also has 50 employees working for its process equipment business in the region.
SPX has in recent years provided expertise to large mechanical construction projects in South Africa, including the FTDR plant for Sasol. The company has been involved in various international projects, notably the EPR Nuclear Plant in Olkiluotto, Finland. Here SPX supplied four high pressure heaters, 120 tons each, to the project. The heaters were manufactured in South Africa.
SPX also recently provided waste heat boilers for a new wet sulphuric acid plant in Secunda. The plant's goal is to reduce sulphur emissions to the environment.
About SPX
SPX Corporation is a Fortune 500 multi-industry manufacturing leader. The company offers highly-specialized engineered solutions to solve critical problems for customers.
SPX is focused on providing solutions that support the expansion of global infrastructure, with particular emphasis on the growing worldwide demand for energy and power. Its innovative product portfolio, containing many environmentally friendly products, includes cooling systems for all types of power plants throughout the world; custom engineered pumps, valves and mixers that assist a variety of flow processes including oil and gas exploration, distribution and refinement; handheld diagnostic tools that aid in vehicle maintenance and repair; and power transformers that regulate voltage for electrical transmission and distribution by utility companies.
SPX is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and employs over 17,000 people worldwide in over 35 countries. Visit www.spx.com.
Contact:
Jeremy W. Smeltser (Investors)
704-752-4478
E-mail: investor@spx.com
Jennifer H. Epstein (Media)
704-752-7403
jennifer.epstein@spx.com