ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb 26, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Pentair
(NYSE: PNR) today announced that it has acquired the assets of privately held
Letro Products, Inc., of Redding, California. Letro Products designs and
manufactures swimming pool accessories including pool cleaners, skimmer lids,
skimmer thermometers, automatic water fillers, flowmeters, and replacement
parts. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Pentair anticipates that the
acquisition will be accretive to earnings in the first full year of ownership.
"Our Pentair Pool Products business has performed very well in the three years
we have owned it, increasing sales by almost 20 percent," said Randall J. Hogan,
Pentair chairman and chief executive officer. "The Pentair Pool name is rapidly
becoming the premiere brand in the pool and spa industry, and our acquisition of
Letro Products will only strengthen our position in this attractive business
arena."
Letro Products, Inc. ( http://www.letro.com ) holds the second-largest share of
the pressure-side swimming pool cleaner category in North America. The company,
which recorded 2002 sales of approximately $8 million, employs 80 people in a
manufacturing and office facility located in Redding.
"Letro's swimming pool cleaners, marketed under the JetVac(R), Legend(R), and
The Boss(TM) brand names, are the perfect complement to our existing Kreepy
Krauly(R) pool cleaner products," said Richard J. Cathcart, president and chief
operating officer of Pentair's Water Technologies Group. "The addition of the
Letro line fills a gap in our pool cleaner product offering and, together with
our previously announced purchase of HydroTemp's line of heat pumps, will
accelerate the growth of our pool and spa equipment business."
Pentair ( http://www.pentair.com ) is a St. Paul-based manufacturer whose core
businesses compete in tools, water technologies, and enclosures markets. The
company employs 12,000 people in more than 50 locations around the world.
Any statements made about the company's anticipated results are forward- looking
statements subject to risks and uncertainties, such as the company's ability to
integrate Letro Products, Inc. and to realize expected synergies from the Letro
Products acquisition. Forward-looking statements included herein are made as of
the date hereof and the company undertakes no obligation to update publicly such
statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Actual results could
differ materially from anticipated results.
SOURCE Pentair
CONTACT: Mark Cain of Pentair, +1-651-639-5278