MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Pentair, Inc. (NYSE: PNR), a
$3.2 billion diversified manufacturer, announced today that its Water
Technologies Group has launched an e-commerce web site to increase its
already-substantial water purification business in the rapidly-growing
economies of Asia.
The web site, called e-watershop India ( http://www.e-watershop.com ), is
designed to be an electronic shopping store for Pentair's large number of
water products. It also serves as a reference source for helpful information
about the importance of clean, potable water to consumers, public health
agencies, and industry. The site presents a wide range of products that can be
ordered directly from the web site and are increasingly in demand for water
treatment and purification applications in India and other expanding economies
in Asia.
Pentair is a leading supplier of quality water-purification components
throughout the world, and has a significant share of the market in India. The
company has a major manufacturing facility in Goa that serves the Indian
market and also exports products to the United States and Europe. The company
said the new web site will serve its existing customers more effectively and
efficiently, while broadening its customer base in India and other Asian
countries.
"With economies rapidly expanding, the need for purified water is growing
exponentially throughout Asia," said Richard J. Cathcart, president of
Pentair's Water Technologies Group. "Pentair anticipates that e-watershop
India will be a major player in meeting this demand for products and
information."
Pentair's water purification components, such as water softener valves,
pressure tanks, filters, pumps, and reverse osmosis membranes and housings are
offered on the web site. They are purchased by companies in India to assemble
water-treatment equipment that is sold to businesses and institutions
requiring pure water for day-to-day operations, such as hospitals, hotels,
soft-drink bottlers, software-component manufacturers and other producers of
high-technology products.
Expecting strong initial success of e-watershop India, Pentair is planning
to launch a second e-watershop in the fall of 2000 to serve Taiwan, China, and
Southeast Asia, a region that the company believes offers an even larger
potential for growth because of the expanding need for pure water. The web
site, e-watershop Asia, will be available to customers in traditional Chinese,
simplified Chinese, and English. This site will support a new distribution
center the company will open in Taiwan this fall. Pentair's new market
initiatives are key elements of its strategy to increase revenues for the
Water Technologies Group from Asia by $150 million in the next two to three
years.
Cathcart said Pentair also plans to open an e-commerce web site in Italy
to expand business for the Water Technologies Group in Europe. This site will
complement a major distribution center that Pentair operates in Milan. It will
offer products and services in several languages to meet the needs of
customers throughout Europe. The site, e-watershop Europe, is expected to be
operational by the end of the year.
Revenues of Pentair's Water Technologies Group increased 110 percent to
$255.6 million and operating income gained 136 percent to $41.4 million in the
second quarter of 2000. Strong performances were recorded in the pump, water
treatment, and pool and spa sectors of the business, both in North America and
abroad.
"There is a huge world-wide need for pure water and the situation will
become even more critical," said Cathcart. "These e-commerce initiatives will
help Pentair serve this large, and fast-growing, demand for high-quality
purification products."
Pentair ( http://www.pentair.com ) is a $3.2 billion diversified
manufacturer operating in tools, equipment, water technologies and enclosures
markets. The company employs 14,000 people in more than 50 locations around
the world.
SOURCE Pentair, Inc.
CONTACT: Mark Cain of Pentair, Inc., 612-486-2761/