London Location Complements Brussels European Headquarters;
Supports Growing Number of European Customers and Suppliers
PITTSBURGH, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- FreeMarkets, Inc. (Nasdaq: FMKT), the
original and world's leading B2B eMarketplace, today announced further
expansion of its European operations with the opening of an office in London,
UK. The FreeMarkets London location will include sales and market making
staff to support the Company's European customer base, as well as suppliers
participating in the FreeMarkets(R) B2B eMarketplace.
The London, UK office complements FreeMarkets' European headquarters in
Brussels, Belgium, which features a market operations center staffed by
employees who speak over 15 European languages and recruit, train and support
industrial buyers and suppliers across Eastern and Western Europe.
"The number of buyers and suppliers using the FreeMarkets B2B eMarketplace
has grown dramatically since we launched our initial operations in Europe,"
said Dan Wilson, vice president of European operations for FreeMarkets. "The
establishment of a London facility provides us with broader geographic reach
that will allow us to better serve our current customers based in the UK and
expand our B2B eMarketplace to include new buyers and suppliers located
throughout Europe."
About FreeMarkets
FreeMarkets is the original and world's leading B2B eMarketplace, with
online markets for industrial parts, raw materials, commodities and services.
The Company has executed online auctions for over $5.4 billion of purchase
orders to date, and created potential estimated savings of more than
$1 billion for its customers. Since 1995, FreeMarkets has created online
auctions for products in more than 100 supply verticals, including injection
molded plastic parts, commercial machinings, metal fabrications, chemicals,
printed circuit boards, corrugated packaging and coal. More than
4,000 suppliers from over 50 countries have participated in the FreeMarkets
B2B eMarketplace. FreeMarkets is the only B2B eMarketplace that includes
industry-leading online auction technology, technical operations, industrial
market making services, access to a global database of suppliers and supplier
research, call center support to buyers and suppliers in over 30 languages,
and marketplace rules. The Company's current customers include Visteon
Corporation, United Technologies Corporation, The Quaker Oats Company, Owens
Corning, Eaton Corporation, Emerson Electric Company, FirstEnergy Corp.,
SmithKline Beecham plc, Navistar International and Delphi Automotive Systems
Corporation. FreeMarkets can be found on the Web at http://www.freemarkets.com.
FreeMarkets is a registered trademark of FreeMarkets, Inc.
Forward-looking statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts, including
those statements that refer to FreeMarkets' plans, prospects, expectations,
strategies, intentions, hopes and beliefs, are forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are based on information available to
FreeMarkets today, and FreeMarkets assumes no obligation to update these
statements as circumstances change. There are risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements, including, without limitation, market acceptance of FreeMarkets'
online auction marketplace, the competitive nature of the market for
business-to-business online auction services, FreeMarkets' ability to retain
and increase revenue from existing clients and to attract new clients,
FreeMarkets' ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, the size of
the market for used equipment and surplus inventory, the demand for online
auction and other asset recovery services by buyers and suppliers, and
FreeMarkets' ability to integrate acquisitions. Risk factors are described in
more detail in FreeMarkets' filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
For further information, contact Karen Kovatch of FreeMarkets,
412-297-8767, or kkovatch@freemarkets.com
SOURCE FreeMarkets, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.freemarkets.com
CONTACT:
Karen Kovatch of FreeMarkets, 412-297-8767,
or kkovatch@freemarkets.com
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