MINNEAPOLIS, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Pentair (NYSE: PNR) announced today
that it has signed a joint agreement with a Brazilian enclosure manufacturer
that will give Pentair an immediate, major presence in the fast-growing South
American telecom enclosures market and help support Pentair's key global
customers including Lucent, Motorola, Nortel, and Rockwell. Under the mutual
exclusive agreement, Metalurgica Taunus Ltda. (Taunus), Boituva, Brazil, will
provide local support and manufacturing for Pentair's worldwide enclosure
businesses, including Pentair Electronic Packaging
( http://www.pentair-ep.com ) and Hoffman Enclosures
( http://www.hoffmanonline ).
"We are excited about our new affiliation with Taunus since it combines
our growing relationship with global key accounts and their expansion into
South America with Taunus' excellent reputation and presence in this market,"
said John Abbott, president of Pentair Electronic Packaging. "We are
committing our project management and engineering support resources to Taunus
to accelerate our success and penetration in this area of the world."
Taunus is the leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of metric
enclosures for electronic and industrial applications in South America, with a
growing presence in the telecom market. The privately held firm, founded in
1969, has state of the art facilities with more than 100,000 square feet of
manufacturing space in Boituva, close to Brazil's telecom center, Campinas.
"This alliance leverages the core competencies of both companies and will
open exciting growth opportunities for us," says Jorge L. Veduvoto, president
of Taunus. "The agreement provides a sound basis to strengthen our good
relationship with Pentair."
Pentair's Electrical and Electronic Enclosures Group generated global
sales of $643 million in 1999. The Pentair Electronic Packaging
( http://www.pentair-ep.com ) division was formed in mid-1999 to focus on the
data communications and telecommunications industries to capitalize on the
growth these industries offer. Hoffman Enclosures Inc.
( http://www.hoffmanonline.com ) is the leading North American designer and
manufacturer of electrical, electronic, and networking enclosures, serving the
North American market through 1,400 stocking distributors.
Pentair ( http://www.pentair.com ) is a diversified manufacturer operating
in three principal markets: professional tools and equipment, water and fluid
technologies, and electrical and electronic enclosures. The company employs
14,000 people in more than 50 locations around the world.
SOURCE Pentair
CONTACT: Mark Cain of Pentair, 612-486-2761/