JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 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-Durr 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-Durr. 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 http://www.spx.com.
SOURCE SPX Corporation
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.spx.com
CONTACT:
Investors, Jeremy W. Smeltser,
+1-704-752-4478, investor@spx.com, or Media, Jennifer H. Epstein,
+1-704-752-7403, jennifer.epstein@spx.com
|
